Families in crumbling homes across Ireland have today released a statement urging the Government to reconsider a scheme that does not cover their costs and that is being 'rushed through' the Dail.
The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill is being debated in Leinster House today, and representatives of the Donegal Mica Action Group, Mayo Pyrite Action Group, Clare Pyrite Action Group, Limerick Action Group and Sligo Action Group issued a stinging response.
The broad brushstrokes of the Bill were announced last autumn, with families saying that the Bill was unfit for purpose, leaving families with tens of thousands of euros to pay to rebuild homes whose defects were no fault of their own.
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The groups called on the Government and opposition parties to 'listen before it is too late'.
"We are angry, frustrated and the endless torture will not be tolerated to go on a minute further," the statement said.
"Over the past ten years, we have engaged endlessly with different government officials and government parties. We have entered talks bringing with us our lived experience of this nightmare. Arming each official with the practical solutions of what is needed on the ground to deliver a scheme that will rebuild our homes.
"At each stage we have encountered obstacles. We had been delivered a scheme that was so flawed it proved financially unviable, and practically unworkable to be of any use for impacted homeowners."
The statement claims that only representatives from two counties - Mayo and Donegal - were invited to talks with officials when mica and pyrite issues affect at least three other counties in Sligo, Clare and Limerick.
The group is critical of Government and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the 'pretence' of setting up a joint working effort to redress families for costs that will affect many to the tune of tens of thousands under the current scheme..
"Sadly, this was not to be the case. Not because we homeowners did not engage, but because the Department of Housing officials and Government officials wasted three months defending their already-debunked 90/10 scheme," the statement says of autumn's announcement.
The families say that the 'trojan horse' of the current Bill was an indication of Government 'spin'.
They claim that the scheme was presented as a 'burden to taxpayers' when the families themselves have been let down by Government regulation and are taxpayers themselves.
"We are the very taxpayers who have been left to suffer in rotting homes, built with unregulated blocks. Portraying us homeowners as greedy, as chancers. Their indifference for the people in homes built with defective blocks quite evident through the schemes many clauses and trappings.
"Not to be deterred or walk away, representatives again agreed to enter discussions with Government representatives. Our aim – to try and improve the new Scheme for a third time. All areas were reviewed, and solutions provided to the additional problems created by the Department."
The groups finish with a direct plea to Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien.
"Minister let us be clear, so our words are not misunderstood. If this bill is not amended, we the homeowners will not support it. We will continue our campaign and protests until it is amended, until it is fit for purpose. Fit for the citizens of this country who need to avail of it to fix their homes.
"It is not just our houses that this is destroying, but our daily lives, our working lives, our family lives, our physical and mental wellbeing, the very fabric of our communities.
"Minister, we will not give up. The time for engagement is over. Amendments are needed. It’s time that your Government and its Department of Housing listen and deliver what has been promised."
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