'This week is critical' – Mica Action Group 

This week has been described as “critical” by Michael Doherty, PRO of the Mica Action Group.

The final meeting of the Working Group on the Defective Blocks Grant Scheme took place late yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) with Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien in attendance. 

Following the meeting Michael Doherty said the family representatives had asked Minister O'Brien directly to "do the right thing by all affected families in offering them 100% Redress to fix their homes.

He added: "The Minister acknowledged the inadequacies in the existing Scheme saying, 'The Scheme does not work as it stands'. He acknowledged the work that has been undertaken over the last number of months by all of the Working Group members and indicated that through his work, he is very clear on what the asks of the affected families are.

"[Minister O'Brien also confirmed that the final Working Group paper will be sent in draft form to family representatives by close of business [on Thursday, September 30] for review and sign off. This will outline the positions of both the family representatives as well as the Department officials. There is acknowledgement that these positions may not be aligned. 

"The Minister also confirmed he will meet with other Political Party Leaders this week to discuss the issue and plans to bring a detailed Memo to Cabinet within the next two to three weeks. He went on to say that he could not preempt the final decision that will be made at this stage but that he has no plans to drag this out any further than is necessary.

"Family Representatives also asked the Minister about the implementation of some of the previously agreed issues such as upfront costs and accommodation costs, which we were told in July would be supported, and if they could be expedited. The Minister said he will speak to the relevant Departments to try to seek implementation of these as soon as possible, but no new dates or time-frame was forthcoming. We reminded him of the urgency of finding a solution to this issue as soon as possible due to the very dangerous situations families find themselves living in condemned and unsafe homes, with many not able to avail of the Scheme," said Michael Doherty.

Minister O'Brien established the Working Group following the mica redress rally in Dublin on June 15. It comprised three Donegal homeowners; three Mayo homeowners, three officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the CEO of the Housing Agency, an Independent Housing Expert and Advisor; an official from Donegal County Council; and an official from Mayo County Council. 

The Working Group is scheduled to submit its final report with recommendations to the Minister today (Thursday)

The representatives of the Donegal families on the Working Group presented their Final Defective Blocks Working Group Position on September 17. The document outlined their “final, informed position” and was endorsed by Donegal County Council's Mica Redress Committee on September 20.

The Donegal Family Representatives presented the same document to Minister O'Brien at yesterday's Working Group meeting. However, officials from the Department of Housing did not present any documentation. 

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Commenting on the Donegal Family Representatives' Final Defective Blocks Working Group Position, Michael Doherty said it detailed essential requirements that must be fulfilled by Government to enable people blighted with crumbling mica and pyrite homes to be able to plan a way forward to reclaim their houses and their lives.

He explained: “The vital cornerstones [of the report] are 100% redress, a 40-year state backed guarantee for partial remediation and that all affected homeowners should be included in the scheme.”

Engineers Ireland also made a submission to the Working Group. The organisation, which has a membership of 25,000, is the representative body of the engineering profession in Ireland.

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Submission by Engineers Ireland to the Working Group on the Defective Blocks Grant Scheme

Read the full Submission here

Engineers Ireland was not represented at the Working Group's meetings, however, a representative of the organisation met with a sub-group of the Working Group, comprising mostly of homeowners, in late August.

The Engineers Ireland Submission provided what it called as high-level observations, during the first year of the [Mica Redress] Scheme, by Engineer Ireland members (registrants) on the IS 465 Register.

IS 465 includes the standardised protocol for determining whether a building has been damaged by concrete blocks containing excessive amounts of deleterious materials, such as mica.

The Engineers Ireland Submission said the primary issue with the current Scheme was the liability risks inherent with reference to remediation options where blockwork was retained.

It remains unclear whether the Working Group's report and recommendations will be informed by the submissions it received from either Engineers Ireland or the Donegal Family Representatives.

In an exclusive interview with Donegal Live a chartered engineer with 50 Donegal clients at various stages of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme spoke publicly of his reservations around the process.

Dr Ambrose McCloskey voiced concern about the fact engineers are being asked to take “relative costs” into account, when making recommendations about remedial options.

He said: “There are no other design standards in our office which ask me to take account of ‘relative cost’ in design. Naturally we always strive to provide a cost-effective solution, but it has to be one that will last.

“The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is unethical, in my opinion. Engineers should not be directed to recommend these remedial fixes until we see reliable research that tells us it is OK to leave these blocks behind, because, in my opinion, it is not.”