Scotland threw its weight behind the MICA redress campaign today.
Friends and relatives of people from across Donegal and other counties whose homes are crumbling from defective building blocks staged a protest outside the Irish Consulate in Edinburgh today.
The #100percentredress protest in Scotland has been organised Andy McGrath – a builder based in Paisley, who has family in Ireland whose home is affected by the crumbing brickwork.
Andy said: “This is a scandal of huge proportions that has caused untold grief and heartache to people whose homes are affected by these defective concrete building blocks.
“There are many thousands of first, second and third generation Irish people living in Scotland who have family and friends whose lives have been turned upside down because their homes are literally falling down around them.
“In Donegal alone where I have family, there are more than 5000 homes which have become uninhabitable because of the excess mica in the brickwork.
Andy McGrath hands in a letter of protest to the Irish counsel in Edinburgh.
“We have seen a massive campaign in the Republic to try to force the Irish Government to live up to their responsibilities by giving the people affected 100 per cent redress and pay the full cost of rebuilding.
“It’s the least they can do after the Government failed to properly police the regulations around the manufacture of this type of brickwork.
“The current Government’s stance of only offering to pay 90 per cent of rebuild costs is all the more galling when a similar issue of pyrite in brickwork was discovered in Dublin, the Government gave these homeowners 100 per cent redress and covered the total rebuild costs.”
Andy added: “We may be across the Irish Sea here in Scotland, but we will stand shoulder to shoulder with those campaigning for the Government to pay 100 per cent of the rebuild costs to the innocent victims of this scandal.
“Today, we are handing in a letter of protest to the Consulate General of Ireland, in Scotland and asking the Consul General, Jane McCulloch to relay our anger and determination to continue campaigning on behalf of our families and friends in Ireland to her Government in Dublin.”
