Shortfalls in the Mica Redress Scheme mean homeowners in Donegal are “not getting what it says on the tin” according to the Mica Action Group.
Officially known as the Defective Concrete Block Scheme, only 55 applications have been received from County Donegal and 27 from County Mayo.
According to one member of the Mica Action Group, it has been confirmed by Donegal County Council, which is administering the Scheme, it was sufficient for families to go online and fill in their name, address and eircode, and their PPI number and they will be issued a registration number.
He added: “It is vital we get a few hundred applications before the end of September. This will allow the Scheme to get funding allocated in the upcoming October Budget 2021.
“In addition, six additional engineers have now been included on the IS-465 list. I would advise people not to go on an individual engineer waiting list, just lift the phone and contact another engineer if this is causing a delay.”
Speaking to Donegal Live, Michael Doherty, who is the PRO of the Mica Action Group said, with regard to the Mica Redress scheme: “We are definitely not getting what it said on the tin. There are going to be a lot of people who will not be able to avail of it. A lot of homes will not be fixed in Donegal because of the direct and indirect exclusions included in the Scheme.
“The first exclusion is demolition. There is no provision for demolition costs. There is no provision for renting a replacement dwelling if a family has to live somewhere for a year because their home has to be demolished.
“The upper limit allowed in the Mica Redress Scheme for demolition is €270,000, which includes the 10 percent payable by the homeowner. In addition if a house is going to be demolished into a quarry hole, then into the quarry hole goes the VAT contributions the home owner paid when the home was being built back in the day.
“We are calling on the Government to exempt homeowners in the Mica Redress Scheme from paying VAT attendant on restoring their homes. They have paid it once and should not have to pay it again, on top of the 10 percent they are paying for repairs or rebuilding, said Mr Doherty.
According to Michael Doherty, 30 to 40 percent of the applications to the Mica Redress Scheme, so far, are homes which require rebuilding.
He added: “We reluctantly bought into was a 90 / 10 scheme and now what we are seeing is that it will be far from 90 / 10, it may be in some cases up as far as 40 or 50 percent contribution by the home owner.
“That will particularly be the case in rebuilds. We do believe that the rates shown and offered for the outer skin replacement only look more attractive and is probably closer to the 90 / 10 percent, but this again will depend on the size of the house.
“Where the biggest shortfall will be is rebuilds and these people are in for a real shock when it comes to the build. The reason is that it looks like the rates will be based on smaller houses up to 1600 to 1800 square feet. We know a lot of people built substantially bigger homes than that over the course of the past 20 to 30 years and these people are in for a real shock and that is a real problem. The rate has been capped on bigger houses.
“Moreover, we have got our mandatory testing fees even though we have cracks that you could drive a bus through. You have another €6,000 tied up with that. The Mica Action Group certainly hopes homeowners will not have to pay Development Charges for a second time also, we will be discussing this with Donegal County Council in September,” said Mr Doherty.
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