Defective blocks campaigners lodge complaint against Irish State with EU

A formal complaint against the Irish State on behalf of homeowners affected by defective concrete has been submitted to the EU Commission.

The move is part of an effort by defective blocks campaigners to add pressure on the EU Commission to take action against the Irish State over its handling of the defective concrete blocks crisis.Defective blocks campaigners  Joe Morgan and Chris Duddy delivered the  formal complaint to The Commission on Tuesday on behalf of impacted families.

 Mr Morgan said: "It was critical we deliver our formal complaint today so that we connect the EU Parliament fact-finding report and our account of the crisis in Ireland, caused by failed Market Surveillance which allowed defective products to enter the EU Market place.

"This complaint, which has been worked on for the last few years, follows on from our face to face meeting with the Commission in June 2023. It represents the official commencement of our escalation of the crisis in Ireland to the EU Commission.

"In addition to the issues with defective blocks historically, the complaint also outlines the systematic failure by our government in their market surveillance of construction products on a national basis which has resulted in what the EU Parliament themselves call a 'Housing Crisis'.

"In the formal complaint, we asked The EU Commission to mandate enhancements to Irish legislation to ensure market surveillance in Ireland is effective and bring an end to the flood of defective products into the EU market.

"We have also asked for fully compensated remediation, something wholly lacking in current government proposals.

"It is imperative that the next generation of home builders - our children, do not find the need to return to the EU to explain their homes are crumbling down around them.”Mr Morgan was part of a delegation of campaigners to The EU Commission in May last year which was advised that an account of efforts within the member state to remedy the crisis was required before the Commission “would consider an escalation to EU institutions”. 

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He said the primary objective of lodging the complaint “is to avoid subsequent generations finding themselves in the same scenario as we find ourselves today”. 

The EU Commission has been supplied with a twenty-year timeline of administrative engagement with both regional and national Irish authorities provided by Debbie McCoy, a concrete lobbyist in the US as well as an academic paper published by Donegal concrete blocks campaigner Dr Eileen Doherty citing missed opportunities to learn from the pyrite crisis in Leinster.

“We have also furnished the EU Commission with evidence of two legal cases taken within the Irish legislative system,” Mr Morgan said.

“The first of these was taken by a number of families in Inishowen which ultimately failed due to claims that Insurance coverage at the quarry was not sufficient to provide compensation to families. The second of these cases being the two lead cases being taken against the State by Coleman Legal.”

Mr Morgan said the complaint also highlights the flaws with the IS465:2018, the State’s protocol to assess and categorise the damage in properties where concrete blocks are suspected to contain the minerals mica or pyrite.

Research has found that iron sulphate attack is the predominant cause of defective concrete in Donegal.

The action by the campaigners has been supported by Irish MEP Luke “Ming” Flanagan and The Left group in the European Parliament.