Further calls for clarification on claims council altered remediation reports

There have been calls for clarification over claims that  Donegal County Council “secretly altered” more than 20 defective concrete block remediation applications.

Independent Donegal TD Thomas Pringle raised with the Taoiseach the claims that homeowners’ engineer's recommendations for defective blocks remediation were altered on a Donegal County Council-operated portal.

Addressing Simon Harris in the Dáil on Tuesday after the online news publication The Ditch published the claims, Deputy Pringle said:  “What I find interesting or perhaps more appropriately described as disturbing, is that in each case the alteration which Donegal County Council claim as ‘a minor technical glitch’ resulted in the original engineering recommendation aligning with a downgraded option recommended by the Housing Agency appointed engineer’s desktop appraisals. It would be naive in my mind to attribute this to mere coincidence.

“When you add this to statements from Engineers Ireland at the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, on the issue of IS465 earlier this year, where they stated that it is: ‘the view of many engineers that the existing standard is no longer fit-for-purpose where the mechanism of deterioration remains uncertain and developments in the scientific understanding of this issue must be appropriately considered.’

“Further they said: ‘A survey conducted in March 2024 of members of Engineers Ireland’s IS465 Register has shown that 75% of engineers employed by homeowners have experienced having a recommendation for Option 1 revised to another option by a Framework Engineer employed by the Housing Agency, with respect to the same property.’

“You can see why this is leading to frustration among residents in County Donegal who have had to engage with the scheme despite its many other flaws,” he said.

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The 100% Redress Party said it is outraged and deeply shocked by the revelations. “Clarification from Donegal County Council into unauthorised changes is required immediately, manipulating independent engineers’ recommendations to align with cheaper and inadequate repair options from the Housing Agency, represent a gross betrayal of public trust,” the party said

“The affected families have already endured unimaginable hardship due to the defective concrete block crisis, and this deliberate deception adds insult to injury. It is clear that both Donegal County Council and the Housing Agency have failed in their duty to protect homeowners and provide fair and just remedies.

“A full investigation into this scandal and immediate accountability for those responsible is required, anything less is unacceptable. The 100% Redress Party will not stand by while families are denied the proper repairs and respect they deserve.”

Sinn Féin also called for urgent clarification on the claim that the alterations made it seem as though independent engineers hired by defective concrete block homeowners “had made the same recommendations as Housing Agency-hired engineers, who mostly recommended cheaper repair options.”

“I have written to the chief executive of Donegal County Council this afternoon on behalf of the Sinn Féin group to request urgent clarification on these very serious and concerning allegations made by The Ditch,” Sinn Féin group leader on Donegal County Council, Cllr Gary Doherty said.