100% Redress Party concerned that engineers ‘are being ignored’ by Housing Agency

The 100% Redress Party has called for a meeting with the Housing Agency amid concerns that engineers’ recommendations for properties affected by defective concrete are being ignored.

The new political party says it has received reports that the agency is ignoring the recommendations of experts.

The Housing Agency was given responsibility for assessing the damage to properties under the State’s redress scheme in July 2022.

Previously, the scheme required homeowners to engage the services of an engineer to assess the damage to their properties.

Tomas Devine, chair of the 100% Redress Party, said the party has been hearing increasing reports that the Housing Agency is ignoring the recommendations of engineers. 

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“In some cases, the engineer has said that a house needs to be demolished and rebuilt, and yet the Housing Agency is overriding this opinion, and only allowing the outer wall to be replaced,” he said.

“We cannot understand why the Government insisted on homeowners spending thousands of euros on obtaining the expert opinion of highly experienced engineers, and undergoing scientific tests on the contents of the blocks used to build their homes, only for their recommendations to be overridden.”

Ali Farren, the public relations officer of the party, said the situation is just another example of how the scheme isn’t working for homeowners.

“The science has proven that the presence of even a small amount of deleterious materials is enough to render a property unsafe,” he said.

“We are therefore calling on the Housing Agency to accept the recommendations of engineers. Many of these experts are also advising homeowners to replace their foundations, and yet the Government has chosen not to include these on the Scheme. We are therefore urging the Housing Agency to meet with us and the engineers as a matter of urgency.”