Council tenants told to leave mica homes immediately

Inishowen council tenants living in mica-affected homes have received terse letters informing them, “it is now necessary for you to move out of this property”.

Carndonagh Councillor Albert Doherty (Sinn Féin) said the “deficit of information” in the letters was “causing undue tension and upset in many families”.

Cllr Doherty added: “The letters contain no answers for tenants regarding justifiable questions including, 'Will I be back? Will my home be fixed? Is my home going to be demolished?'

The letters, which came from Inishowen Municipal District's Housing and Corporate Area Manager, informed tenants, following an initial visual survey of council housing stock, core samples had been taken from a number of houses in the peninsula and were with laboratories for testing.

The letter continued: “When final test results are received, this will assist the council in understanding the next steps to be progressed. A number of tenants from affected homes across the peninsula have been transferred to alternative accommodation over the past number of years and this will continue where there are issues of concern.

“I wish to advise you [your home] is one of the houses being tested so it is now necessary for you to move out of this property.”

Cllr Doherty said he had spent the last two weekends visiting Council owned homes, which may have been Specific Instance (SI) homes [one-off homes] or council estates where Mica has been rampant.

He added: “The tone of the letter is cautionary but the information is non existent.

“Some tenants are adamant they are not going to leave until they get an adequate response. The Council says the tests will assist it in understanding the next steps to be progressed.

“Tenants want information on what are the next steps are for them, short term and long term, and they are not getting it.

“The Council says, once test results are back and there is a clear pathway established, it will be possible to meet with residents' groups. However, for the last month, I have been seeking a meeting on behalf of Clos Phadraig residents here in Carndonagh, one of the housing estates affected by Mica, and we cannot get a face-to-face or a good in-depth meeting, because we are told, the final test results are not back yet,” said Cllr Doherty.

Cllr Doherty revealed the homes he had visited had been inspected by Housing Engineers, who had cautioned families it was in their interest to vacate the premises.

“But, naturally, families want to know, 'Will I be back? Will I be back here? When will you have a full complement of information for us?' One family has been told to get out of the house and leave whatever is there because the house is about to fall down.

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“As Inish Times comes out this morning, a delegation from Inishowen will be heading up to Dublin to meet the other members of the new Defective Blocks Working Group. We can't forget the Council tenants. We have to prioritise them. Their plight must be somewhere on the table as we commence these new talks.

“The families have not been told whether they need to store their belongings or if security is going to be provided at the vacated homes and these too are pressing issues,” said Cllr Doherty.