'Maybe Santa won't come at Christmas because all the chimneys are cracked'

"Maybe Santa won't come at Christmas because all the chimneys are cracked.”

This was the thought uppermost in the mind of one of the children living in mica-affected homes who left Inishowen at dawn on Wednesday to travel up to Dáil Éireann.

Two buses carried the 50 young people, of primary and post primary school age, to Dublin, where they staged a protest at the gates of Leinster House and handed in letters detailing how the defective concrete blocks used in the construction of their family homes had caused trauma in their young lives.

Another young person shared how they could not sleep at night as they were afraid the roof of their home was fall in.

In her letter, Savanna Diver (8) said: “I live in County Donegal. Mammy and daddy built a home for our family and it is falling down because of mica in the blocks. It is costing a lot of money to rebuild and it is not mammy or daddy's fault. Can you please help?”

Education Minister, Norma Foley, Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman and Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue, spoke to the young people outside the Dáil, as did several other TDs including Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Pearse Doherty (Sinn Féin). Housing Minister, Darragh O'Brien, did not appear.

Controversy erupted later following Leaders' Questions when Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he had not been invited out to meet the young people who had travelled up from Inishowen.

Standing outside Leinster House, Barry Kearney of the 100% Redress campaign said he had correspondence, dated October 13, to An Taoiseach, the other Government leaders, Education Minister, Norma Foley, and Children's Minister, Roderic O'Gorman.

Mr Kearney added: “I got a response from all of them except Micheál Martin. Micheál Martin, I am calling on you now to correct the record of the Dáil.

“Will you come out here and give us an apology for basically calling us liars because I have the evidence here [of an invitation] dated October 13, which was sent to your office.

“We are not liars. You were invited here,” concluded Mr Kearney.

A spokesperson for the Mica Action Group said: "These children are being ignored and their voices are not getting heard.

"It is time for our Government to listen to the voices of our mica children. It is time to stop ignoring the future generation of our country.

"If members of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael could let their party leadership know that it will be impossible for them to stay in a party that does not grant 100% Redress, we feel this is really the right time for such statements to be made and for such a stand to be taken," the spokesperson concluded.

RELATED

March of the Mica Children

Children from mica-affected homes making their voices heard at Dáil Éireann

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien and the Government is currently considering demands from homeowners affected by building materials containing deleterious materials including mica, pyrite and pyrrhotite, for a 100% Redress Scheme. A decision on the matter is expected within the next fortnight.

Commenting on the delay, Minister Charlie McConalogue said: “Waiting a few more weeks for a mica redress scheme is acceptable, if it means it will be right.”