Mica redress fight is 'far from over' - redress campaigner

No final decisions have been taken by the Defective Blocks Working Group, according to the Department of Housing.

In a statement to Donegal Live, the Department, which established the Working Group following the June 15 mica protest rally in Dublin, said that progress is being made and the Group’s work is ongoing. It also said that all issues remain under discussion and that no final decisions have been taken.

A Department spokesperson said: “The Department is committed to working with homeowners in order to find resolutions to the issues under review.

“Department officials will continue to work with stakeholders throughout August and September. Further formal meetings of the Working Group are planned for September.

“The report is expected to be submitted to the Minister by the end of September.”

100% redress campaigner, Paddy Diver, said the situation regarding the Defective Blocks Working Group was “not sitting in a good position at the minute”.

Mr Diver said the Government had “put up a wall” since agreeing in principle the “low-lying fruit”, including: the removal of upfront costs; the removal of like-for like planning; and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland grants.

He added there had been no progress regarding the substantive issues of 100% Redress; a State Guarantee; second homes; and mental health services for mica-affected families.

Mr Diver said: “The Defective Blocks Working Group has been meeting for the past five weeks and in those five weeks we could not get the Government to commit to the serious issues. We still have no office.

“The Donegal County Council representative is sitting in there for up to three hours at a time, not opening his mouth, to ask for Paul Benson [who has a policy brief within the Housing Department] or Graham Doyle [Secretary General, Housing Department], ‘Where are we on our Liaison Office? Where are we on the extra staff we have asked for?’

“It is the representatives of people with mica-affected buildings who are fighting for these, not Donegal County Council. Donegal County Council, last week, issued a statement it was going to pull out of the talks. I thought that was pathetic. It was like school children arguing in a playground.

“Two meetings of Donegal County Council have had to be adjourned recently, not because of the actions of the public, but by themselves acting like immature people. They have a bigger job out there to do.

“Get the Liaison Office opened and get it done quick and get the Donegal County Council representative who is on the Defective Blocks Working Group to fight for extra staff. People’s mental health needs this. People with poor mental health do not need you in there squabbling like schoolchildren.”

Mr Diver said the representatives of people with mica-affected buildings: Michael Doherty, Eileen Doherty and Ann Owens, are still seeking houses to be red-flagged.

He added: “I was down at a house the other night, which has a chimney ready to fall down. The Government still will not red-flag a house, after all of this pressure and waiting for it to happen.

“The Government will not give us a State Guarantee, which means our houses are not insured. If people in Donegal think their homes are insured, they actually might not be.

“If you phone your insurance company, you will only get your contents insured, if it suspects you have mica.

“But, if you don’t phone your insurance company and tell them you have mica, it will do the exact same as happened in Mayo, which was to say to the householder, ‘You didn’t declare you had mica, therefore, you’re not insured at all’. That could happen in Donegal too. So, we have put maximum pressure on the Government.

“This fight is far from over. People need to be ready for a fight. The way to go through this fight is by using the media, by bringing it to the streets and by putting pressure on the TDs.

“There is a Budget coming up now. Michael Doherty and the others are presenting to Darragh O’Brien and the Government this document, which is going to be the key.

“The motion for 100% redress was passed unanimously in the Dáil on June 15. That was the democratic voice of the nation in action.

“We will target TDs in affected counties, Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Sligo and Tipperary, to hold the balance of power and vote against the October Budget, effectively toppling the Government if it does not support the Defective Blocks Working Group. Maximum pressure needs to be put on the TDs.”

While supporting the Inishowen representatives on the Working Group, Mr Diver said he was under no illusion “we are in the biggest fight of our lives”.

The Carndonagh man said: “The Government is not budging. It is kicking the mica can down the street. I have seen it. I know what it is at. It has taken three weeks for us to get a professional person in to help with books. The Government wasted three meetings doing that.

“As for 100% Redress and the State Guarantee, the Government is a million miles away from us and we need to be ready. As soon as I get a date from the Working Group, we are away and we are going to have to go and I mean everybody.

“The Inishowen representatives want our expert included in the Defective Blocks Working Group meetings, to come up with a strategy and a plan because, at the minute, nothing is being documented for us, it is not going to plan at all. It is only hearsay at the minute.

“The Government has not officially told us our expert can join the meetings but the Mayo representatives are going to be allowed to use their advisor to talk with the Working Group.”