Campaigners for 100% redress for homeowners affected by defective blocks in Donegal say that the Enhanced Defective Blocks Scheme first announced in November 2021, and which was published yesterday, has serious flaws.
The scheme, details of which have been published by the Department of Housing, covers homeowners in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Mayo whose homes have been damaged by the use of defective blocks.
The home must be a person's principal private residence, or a rented house registered with the Residential Tenancies Board.
There are five remediation options within the scheme, with an overall grant cap of €420,000.
Donegal Mica Action Group Chair Lisa Hone said that the Government "has failed to genuinely listen and address practical issues faced by those affected" and has "persistently disregarded homeowners in desperate situations with cold indifference".
The Mica Action Group said that thousands of homes and other affected structures are excluded from the scheme "despite being victim of the same regulatory and market surveillance failures that the State presided over for years and years in the production of construction materials".
The group said there are serious concerns about the revised scheme with regard to the "exclusion of foundations, the failure to prioritise the vulnerable, the absence of suitable accommodation, the issues surrounding the Certification of Remediation including the lack of meaningful and timely engagement with the banking and insurance sectors".
It said people are being "forced to build to lapsed construction standards and the scheme does not represent 100% of the true costs" and it "will undoubtedly leave very significant numbers of homeowners with shortfalls of tens of thousands of euro".
Ms Hone said the group are particularly concerned about how the most vulnerable will navigate the demands of the scheme.
"Is it reasonable to demand that thousands of homeowners of advanced age, those dealing with profoundly serious illnesses or disability, navigate a complex three-stage application process and project manage a demolition, rebuild and two house moves?
"Homeowners can avail of an accommodation and storage allowance with the new scheme but it does not magically produce the homes that people require," she said, adding "if they cannot find alternative accommodation, they cannot access the scheme."
