Mayo homeowner representatives demand action on defective concrete block scheme
THE Housing Minister has been called on to fulfil his promise and roll out the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block Scheme in the first quarter of this year.
After 10 years of campaigning, affected homeowners, living in condemned properties, want to get on with their lives.
Homeowner representatives from Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick have issued a statement in relation to the current lack of progress with the commencement of the enhanced scheme.
At a meeting in November, the Department of Housing was requested to provide actionable updates in several areas, including a timeline for the roll-out of the scheme. No response has been received, they say.
At briefing meetings with the councils in each of the four counties in November, assurances were given that the scheme would be running by Quarter 1, 2023, and that stakeholder consultations regarding regulations would include input from homeowner representative groups.
These promises, they say, have not been delivered on.
The statement continued: '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.'
This includes, they say, 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; facing impossible debt to try to restore anything close to what they had before being sold defective, non-government regulated products; and refusing to allow homeowners to use the grant to downsize and build to current standards, without incurring financial loss or debt.
The statement continued: '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/Department 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.
'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.'