Donegal County Council has confirmed it has submitted claims to the government totalling over €850,000, seeking reimbursement for monies spent on the maintenance of social housing units suspected of being affected by defective concrete blocks.
The issue was raised by Cllr Brian Carr, who says it’s wrong that this money is coming out of the council’s own housing budget, while the government still hasn’t provided a remediation scheme for social homes.
Responding to Cllr Carr’s question, officials told him that to date, the Social Housing Remediation Team has carried out essential immediate repairs to 212 social homes to a total value of €865,047.78, primarily in the Inishowen and Letterkenny Municipal Districts.
Claims have been submitted to the Department of Housing, and the Council is anticipating recoupment of those monies once the scheme for Remediation of Social Homes is in place. Other essential immediate repair works are currently ongoing and planned, involving essential immediate repairs on further social homes.
Claims for the costs of those works will also be submitted to the Department.
Meanwhile, on foot of a motion from Cllr Jack Murray, the council is to write to the Housing Minister James Browne noting the recent extension of the Pyrite Remediation Scheme for homeowners affected by pyritic heave in Dublin and Leinster, calling on the government to deliver the same redress to all victims of the defective concrete scandal by urgently introduce a genuinely 100% redress scheme.
