In a joint statement this afternoon, homeowner representatives in Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick say they met with Department of Housing officials in November the 22nd, following which they expected a number of updates in early December.
That included a timeline for the roll out of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block scheme.
However, they say as of yet, no updates have been received.
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Statement in full –
We, the Homeowner representatives from Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick would like to issue a
statement in relation to the current lack of progress with the commencement of the Enhanced
Defective Concrete Block Scheme.
Homeowner representatives met with representatives from the Dept of Housing on the 22nd of
November 2022. The Department of Housing were requested to provide actionable updates in several
areas including.
• Written confirmation from the Minister that the Department will engage in genuine and
consultative dialogue during any review process of regulations with Homeowner
Representatives.
• Confirmation the Minister would ensure updated SCSI figures (including for the two new
counties of Clare & Limerick) to be ready for the launch of the new scheme.
• Confirmation that all Insurance/Financial bodies will sign off on any letter of assurance/
certification issued as part of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block scheme.
• A timeline for the roll out of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block scheme.
• Confirmation on who is the main body responsible for Housing (both temporary and emergency)
and what is the plan to accommodate thousands of displaced families in this crisis.
• An update on why the SEAI is not accepting applications from defective concrete homeowners
including confirmation that all homeowners progressing on the existing scheme will be paid in
full in retrospect.
A deadline for the 2nd of December 2022 was assigned for a response to the above questions and
despite numerous requests for responses to the above questions, no communication has been
received.
In relation to core issues of the current scheme, Minister O’Brien stated “homeowner concerns
relating to cost recovery and assurances regarding the remediated homes would be addressed
through immediate actions.”
Further, following briefing meetings with the Councils of each of the four counties in November
2022, assurances were also given that the new scheme would be running by Quarter 1, 2023, and that
stakeholder consultations regarding regulations would include input from homeowner representative
groups.
As of 18th of January 2023, none of these promises have been delivered on.
The Minister is still unable to confirm a date when the enhanced scheme will be operational, and
homeowners may apply.
There is now a real concern that those who are suffering in defective concrete homes are being
deprioritised, while the Department of Housing deal with additional crises Government has created
from lack of regulations, failure to build housing capacity and inadequately support and plan.
The ongoing stalling of this scheme seems a strategic ploy by Government, to leave those suffering
this crisis in extended, prolonged and indefinite limbo. Through each stage of the DCB campaign,
homeowners in each of the impacted counties have been subjected to years of distress, delay and
destruction of not only their homes, but also their personal, professional and family lives. They have
been subjected to punitive qualification regimes, financially and technically non-sensical, non-
solutions, and the disastrous physical and mental health impacts of a governmental response that
has aggravated as opposed to solve the crisis.
This includes,
• Forcing homeowners to rebuild on potentially unfit foundations.
• Forcing homeowners to suffer for years in defective homes until they are
“damaged enough” to meet a non-scientifically supported notion of a damage threshold,
which bears no relation to the actual structural damage and loss of value of their home.
• Forcing homeowners into impossible debt to try to restore anything close to what they had
before being sold defective, non-government regulated products.
• Forcing homeowners to rebuild with products and materials that were on the market before
2008.
• Refusing to allow homeowners to use the grant to downsize and build to current standards,
without incurring financial loss or debt.
There is no project plan in place to roll out the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block Scheme, leaving
the homeowner under significant pressure to not only go into debt due to the shortfalls of the
scheme but to secure an engineer, source a builder and locate rental accommodation in the middle
of a housing crisis. An opportunity has been provided to the Local Authorities/ Dept. of Housing to
build modular homes to house families needing to move out while building work is ongoing and then
repurpose in the longer term to assist the homeless crisis – but this has been shot down.
Homeowners across the affected counties have campaigned and protested for a solution that will
allow them to rebuild their homes with zero defects. Through each stage of the campaign
homeowners have, been met with delay after delay, prohibitive tactic after prohibitive tactic.
In recent days we have become aware of Minister Darragh O’Brien’s intention to provide 100%
Redress for the defective apartments. While we stand in solidarity with homeowners impacted by
this issue, it is vital to highlight the continuous discrimination towards the Defective Concrete
Homeowners.
A defect is a defect regardless of type or scale.
In comparison to the speedy and non-prohibitive response to this Building Defects crisis, this is more
than an urban and rural divide, it is about a Government prioritising large vested financial interests
and property holdings first – ensuring any defects in this area are immediately fixed, without protest,
without the toxic narrative of maligning those who are innocent in this scandal and without the
pretence of doing something to right a wrong, while in fact doing nothing at all.
Immediate action is now needed by the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, which includes
fulfilling his promise to roll out of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block scheme in Quarter 1 2023,
to enable homeowners who are living in dangerous, crumbling, damp, cold and condemned homes
to get on with their lives after 10 years of campaigning.
