Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has received confirmation from Minister Simon Coveney that the government will not amend the terms of reference of the “expert panel” currently investigating the impact on homes in Donegal of mica defective blocks.
The Minister also confirmed that Donegal County Council will be left with the bill for council homes with mica defective blocks.
Senator Mac Lochlainn had asked the Minister to amend the panel’s terms of reference to to allow the members to investigate problems in concrete block work in publicly-owned buildings such as council housing and schools.
He has also asked the Minister to clarify if the terms of reference allowed the panel to recommend a redress scheme similar to the Pyrite Redress Scheme and allowed them to recommend financial assistance to families already forced to carry out remediation works to ensure the safety of the family home.
Senator Mac Lochlainn said “Following meetings between this expert panel and local county councillors, concerns were expressed about the limitations of this panel to provide solutions for hundreds and possibly thousands of families across Donegal, devastated by the impact of mica defective blocks on their homes.
“I then submitted questions to the Minister and sought clarification. Unfortunately the Minister has confirmed our fears. The line in his response that reads; “it will be the responsibility of the relevant public authorities, as the owners, to address any problems that may have emerged in their buildings”, clearly means that Donegal County Council will be left with the bill for repairing council homes with mica defective blocks.
“This could be a huge amount of money and will mean that other important local services will lose out”.
He continued “I also have no clarification from the Minister of what this panel can and cannot recommend. Can they recommend a redress scheme similar to the Pyrite Redress Scheme and can they recommend financial assistance to families already forced to carry out remediation works to ensure the safety of the family home.
“These are crucial questions for so many families across Donegal. I will continue to challenge the Minister and this government to ensure that families in Donegal receive the same support as the families in Dublin and North Leinster who were affected by pyrite in their homes”.