Recent storms show that delays to the Mica redress scheme are not only “unacceptable but they are life-threatening”, Donegal County Council heard today.
The urgent need for emergency funding and clarity on a large number of issues was raised at a special meeting of the council today. The meeting was attended by elected councillors, Minister Charlie McConalogue and Deputy Joe McHugh.
Cllr Gary Doherty, who called for the meeting, said that the recent storms brought more sleepless nights and added to the endless worry of Mica families. “They worried that each gust would be the one that causes a portion of their house to fall to the ground and, God forbid, would cause injury or worse to themselves or their children,” he said.
Cllr Doherty said the damage made it “abundantly clear” of the dangers that lie in the delays of the enhanced scheme. He called for several urgent measures for families, including a dedicated Mica helpline for homeowners and for the council to hold clinics for individuals entering the scheme.
Chief Executive Officer of Donegal County Council John McLaughlin
Chief Executive Officer of Donegal County Council John McLaughlin said he was told by the Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien that regulations are to be signed this evening on engineer’s fees and emergency works payments. He said the Minister expressed a desire to keep the support scheme “simple” and for the funds to be paid out quickly.
Councillors raised a wide range of questions on the current and incoming scheme. It was agreed that all queries would be answered in a Q&A style document at a later date and published online.
Two fundamental questions from Cllr Doherty were: “What are the council, the department regulators, whoever, what are they doing to ensure that Mica infested blocks are not still entering the market right now?” and “Has there been any movement on the regulation of quarries, and the examination of planning permission for quarries which have been found to supply defective blocks?”
Cllr Liam Blaney added that he believed it was important that the public is made aware that a number of companies sold defective blocks. “I’m not standing up for any one company,” he said, “but I think it’s important for homeowners to know, and if they think at all that there are some sort of defects, that they get tested.”
The executive reported today that just five homes in Donegal have been fully-fixed under the existing Mica Redress Scheme. Stage 3 works have begun on a further 21 homes, while 686 applicants are at stage 1, where their eligibility to enter the scheme has only been confirmed.
CE John McLaughlin said that he was not satisfied with the pace of the scheme, which “will have to be ramped up” to address the hundreds of private homes on the scheme, as well as the 1,000 social houses waiting for repairs.
He said: “On top of that, we need to build about 1,000 new houses in the next few years. There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of materials and a lot of need for building contracts, we need to look collectively at how that can be done and manage how it can be incentivised.”
Mr McLaughin said the enhanced scheme is still being worked through.
Donegal Minister Charlie McConalogue, who attended the meeting in the Aura, said the Mica crisis is a trauma for every family affected.
Minister Charlie McConalogue
“I want to be clear it is the absolute commitment of the government to work with homeowners to ensure we fix every one of those homes, that we have a scheme that works week and is fit for purpose,” the Minister said.
He added that he believed it was important that applications are kept moving in the period between the outgoing scheme and the new scheme.
Deputy Joe McHugh said he was concerned about the information vacuum that exists, and the erosion of confidence in the process due to the Society of Chartered Surveyors working in conjunction with the government.
“Time has moved on for so many people. Their lives have been held back, they are in limbo,” Deputy McHugh said.
“From my contact with Minister O Brien, the commitment is there to get this legislation through, and it is in my belief that this can be completed before the summer.”
The meeting concluded with an agreement that information be made public on the purchase of Mica-affected houses in a Buncrana estate. Five homes in An Crannla estate were bought by Donegal County Council for social housing last year with the knowledge that they would require remedial work.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle said that councillors in the Housing SPC were given an explanation on the purchase recently and that this information should be shared to answer pertinent questions.
“Let people make up their own minds. There is a context there for what the council did and I think it’s important that that goes out there,” he said.
Mr John McLaughlin said there was “nothing to hide” and that a review is being carried out by an outside company on the matter. He said he would be happy to share public records from the Housing SPC.
Cllr Jack Murray said transparency is at the highest priority of addressing a narrative of questions not being answered within the council.
