Council tenants are ‘falling through the cracks’ of the Mica crisis, Donegal County Council has been told today.
An estimated 1,000 social houses in Donegal are affected by mica blocks. Clear plans are being sought to support those families.
Cllr Albert Doherty, Vice-Chair of the Mica Redress Committee, is calling on Donegal County Council to establish a role for a specially trained liaison officer to engage with tenants.
Caroline Long was forced to sell the contents of her council home in Culdaff after being forced out of it because it is structurally unsound due to Mica. She was given alternative accommodation in Malin Town. (NW Newspix)
All victims should be treated the same, Cllr Gary Doherty told today’s Special Meeting on Mica.
“Council tenants are being left in limbo,” said Cllr Gary Doherty. “They are falling through the cracks and it is totally unjust and unfair that this has happened.
“Why are Donegal County Council not liaising with these homeowners on a more proactive basis and letting them know that they are valued and their lives also matter? We cant allow a situation where anybody is left behind in this crisis, all victims are the same. We also have thousands of private renters and people in receipt of the housing assistance payment in the county being left in no man’s land.
“We already have a housing shortage right through the county. Where the hell are people going to go when their houses are falling down and uninhabitable and there’s nowhere else to go?”
Cllr Gerry McMonagle added his call for a clear plan for social houses.
“Every day we get calls from tenants and homeowners, in houses not fit for purpose, which are literally falling down around them and posing a severe threat to their physical wellbeing,” said Cllr McMonagle.
“What are doing today for the people whose houses are riddled with damp and with plaster falling off the walls?”
Cllr McMonagle has put forward questions to the local authority on how many council houses to date have been tested for Mica and how much funding is being sought from the Department of Housing to address and fix the affected homes.
The special meeting continues online this afternoon.
Forced to sell contents after dream home condemned with MICA
