A Donegal County Councillor has suggested that up to half of the houses in Donegal affected by mica are in the Letterkenny Municipal District.
It is said that anything up to to 5,000 homes in Donegal are at risk from the problem, caused by a mineral called muscovite mica in concrete blocks.
The dwellings are single storey, dormer and two-storey with both housing estates and one-off rural houses affected and it is said that the houses are located within the Inishowen and Letterkenny Municipal Districts.
“I don’t think that people realise the extent of mica in this area,” Councillor Liam Blaney told this month’s meeting of the Letterkenny Municipal District.
“There are up to 5,000 buildings affected in Donegal – I’d say that not far off half of those are in the Letterkenny Electoral Area.
The Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks was published last month. The report identified that mica is in houses – we knew that already. The report was nothing but a disgrace and a slap in the mouth to people living in these houses.
“A redress scheme is what is needed. We should demand it.”
Councillor Blaney said he attended a meeting two weeks ago in Burt and that Inishowen Councillors are to table a motion demanding a redress scheme. He urged members to support the call and that it happens as soon as possible.
Councillor Blaney said: “These people are living in conditions that just aren’t safe. We should write to revenue and request that anyone living in a building or a dwelling that has mica be exempt from the household charge. We have to show the people that we recognise that they have a problem. People are burying their heads in their hands in certain situations.”
Councillor Ian McGarvey said the Government should have an obligation to check the materials that are being offered by suppliers and to enforce certain standards.
Eunan Kelly, Area Manager, Corporate and Housing Services said the problem is nowhere near as bad in Letterkenny as it is in in the Inishowen area.
He said: “We’re watching closely to see how it progresses. We have nothing in our stock that has the problems that are in Inishowen at the moment. We are monitoring it and have done some remedial works.”
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