Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal Charlie McConalogue has hit out at the Government for continuing to delay the publication of the report from the MICA expert panel.
The report was initially due to be completed in May last year, and almost a year on, it has yet to be published.
Deputy McConalogue said, “The expert panel was set up in February 2016 to examine problems caused by MICA in concrete blocks, which were used to build homes in Donegal and Mayo. The panel was due to report back in May, and although the document has been handed over to the Minister it has still not been published.
“Minister Damien English visited Donegal earlier this week but was unable to give any assurances to worried homeowners as to when the report would be published. In fact, all he could tell them was that the report would be further delayed. This is a ridiculous situation.
“The delay in publishing its findings is simply unacceptable. Thousands of homeowners have been left in the lurch and are extremely frustrated with the way the situation has been handled.
“Thousands of homes are thought to have been built with defective MICA blocks, which resulted in major structural problems. Many families have been living in unstable houses for years without any resolution in sight.
“We have seen a similar situation in Dublin and some commuter counties where pyrite has rendered many homes uninhabitable. The Government set up a compensation scheme to deal with that issue and I believe a similar scheme needs to be implemented for homeowners in Donegal.
“This issue needs immediate action and I have called on Minister English to provide assistance as a matter of urgency and set a date for the publication of the expert panel’s report. It is a living nightmare for those families whose homes are affected and the Government needs to address the issue immediately.”
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