Nineteen of Donegal’s 37 councillors are at the gates of Leinster House this afternoon supporting the defective blocks campaign.
A cross-party delegation travelled to Dublin this morning at the request of homeowners to add political weight to their campaign for 100% redress.
Councillors are expected to meet with Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien later. Defective concrete block homeowners have been growing increasingly frustrated by the delayed redress scheme, which, when it goes live, will not deliver 100% to the majority of homeowners due to caps and exclusions.
Donegal homeowners urged councillors this month ‘to stand up, be counted and send a very public message to Government that the on-going anguish and lack of equality endured by families victim to defective concrete blocks homes is utterly unacceptable.’
Their anger was worsened by the Government announcing a 100% fully funded, end to end managed scheme for victims of the “Celtic Tiger” Defective Apartments.
Lisa Hone, Chair of the Mica Action Group states “We are very glad for the apartment owners and tenants who need defects fixed to ensure their homes are safe and habitable. They have endured much anguish as a result of living in a defective apartment and nobody understands the torment it brings more than the victims of defective concrete homes. We are, however, astonished at inequality between the schemes. Many of the terms defective concrete blocks campaigners fought so hard for and were given a flat No from Government are part of the defective apartment redress scheme.
“Whether it be defective apartments, defective concrete homes or the Leinster Pyrite issue, all affected find themselves in such dire and distressing situations for the same reason – State governance which should have protected them, failed persistently and nationally for years exposing thousands unknowingly to defective products and homes which were destined to fail.”
