Press Release Meeting with Minister English April 2017
Defective Blocks in Donegal: Frustrated families to endure further delay
Members of Mica Action Group took the opportunity to avail of an informal meeting with Minister Damien English first thing on Monday morning 3rd April when he visited Donegal County Offices in Lifford.
Discussed at this meeting was the outstanding publication of a report following the investigation into the issue of defective blocks in counties Donegal and Mayo which was completed in February this year.
The investigation was carried out by an independent panel of experts, established last year to investigate the presence of Mica and defective blocks in homes in Donegal and Mayo.
Hundreds of families in Donegal have experienced serious issues with their homes having crumbling blockwork.
Minister English was reminded of the severity of what affected families are dealing with and the untold stress for hundreds of families created by the apparent lack of urgency being afforded to the matter by the Minister and the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.
Phil McDaid, Chairperson of Mica Actin Group commented “Minister English assured Mica Action Group that once he receives the report he will give this report his urgent consideration and ensure publication is made as soon as possible thereafter. The report is currently with legal advisers and the Attorney General who are finalising their review. When pressed as to when report would be published, Minister English could not commit to a timeline but underlined that “we are talking weeks and not months”. We reiterated our request for the Minister and the Independent Panel to meet with Mica Action Group to brief us on the findings and Minister English confirmed he is committed to meeting us to discuss the findings and the next steps as soon as possible after publication”.
“We recalled on the deputation from Mica Action Group who highlighted the issue of defective blocks to Seamus Neely, Chief Executive, Donegal County Council and the local councillors in these very chambers in Lifford in April 2014. At that time, we advised that these block manufacturing processes continues unchallenged and measures needed to be taken to investigate the quarries. Having also visited the Department of Environment in Dublin in December 2014, we find ourselves in 2017 with no further understanding of what investigations, if any, has been carried out since and what can the government bodies can do to ensure what has happened in the past does not continue now and in the future.
The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan refers to “The Five Pillars”. Without a quality review of the raw material resources in the local areas and changes to current manufacturing processes these “five pillars” may be based on questionable foundations. Let’s also ensure that generations to come shall never experience what is being endured now in Donegal.
Whilst the report will highlight the issues involved and identify possible remedial solutions, we remain hopeful that the report will guide the government on the way forward which will include the setting up of a redress scheme for all affected families, which MAG has been calling for, for the last number of years.”
