A Donegal homeowner has said his dreams have been crushed following a government decision to grant financial aid under the Mica redress scheme only to properties which are principal privately-owned homes.
That means anyone living in another house elsewhere in Ireland or out of the jurisdiction will receive no help for what is perceived to be a second home built with Mica blocks.
According to the Irish Mirror, scores of people have built properties in Co Donegal to prepare for retirement, only to discover their plans are in tatters.
One homeowner, who lives in the north of England, said:
“We spent hard-earned money, many hours and a lot of effort to build a retirement home for myself and my wife to return to Ireland in 2020.
“The idea was our children and grandchildren would have a place to call home with us, a place where we could spend quality time together in our golden years.
“Now that dream has been crushed. We hoped we were not affected by Mica but we had to admit defeat.
“Our home is crumbling, it will not last the length of time we would hope to need it for. We cannot afford to start again either in terms of finance or age. We are devastated.”
And for families who do get the chance to repair or rebuild, the scheme will not provide any financial allowance for storage of furniture or to rent another property while works are carried out.
Christina Crumlish, who lives in Malin Head, said the expenses she has faced have been “phenomenal”.
She added: “We had to get the gable wall of our home repaired to keep the house standing to give us a couple of years in the hope the redress scheme could allow us to do a full repair.
“In addition to that we have to stump up 10% of the cost of the work being done that the homeowners will have to come up with, we have no idea what it will be so planning is impossible at this stage.
“The fact we may get help to rebuild or repair is a huge positive. But there is no help for
the additional expenses such as the rental of another property, the usual expenses of insuring our own property, keeping the electric connected so we don’t have to face a huge reconnection fee.
“And we, like most people, would have to make sure our furniture is stored safely while works are being carried out.
“In addition to the upheaval which we obviously have to deal with, the financial pressures are huge.
“There will be many people who cannot afford what will become their end of the deal with the Government.
“The Mica Action Group has done incredible work to help get us this far but they understand the reality of facing into rebuild and repair, and they will continue to lobby for help for the additional expenses.
“As homeowners who did everything in our power to buy or build a home and create a safe and secure space for our families, we really are in a difficult position.
“No matter what way we turn we are facing huge challenges and those need to be met by the level of compensation levied against them.
“This is not a quick scheme to get people sorted and move on. The consequences of the issues, of the defective blocks, of the impact on people’s lives is horrendous.
“And while the good news is the Government is acting, it seems that is it very slow and the amount of money being put aside will not realistically cover the major costs we are facing through no fault of our own.”
