Exclusion of Sligo homeowners from defective blocks scheme branded as “discrimination”
THE plight of Sligo homeowners whose houses have been damaged by pyrite was powerfully explained to members of Sligo County Council this week when they were told how one homeowner described living in her pyrite-wracked home.
They were told “one day living in a house with pyrite is like a week, one week living in this house is like a year”.
Cllr Thomas Healy, who is PRO of the Sligo Pyrite Action Group, told fellow councillors on Monday that Sligo homeowners are distraught at the failure to have their damaged homes included in the defective blocks scheme which had been rolled out to neighbouring counties such as Mayo and Donegal.
Outlining the financial burden and mental stress the owners were experiencing, he appealed to fellow councillors to go to their respective TDs and ask them to get involved in ensuring Sligo homes damaged by pyrite are included in the scheme.
“They feel no one is listening to them, no one is standing up for them. It’s not their fault, it’s the fault of this and past governments who didn’t put in proper regulations, who allowed soft regulations to allow defective blocks to be used in houses across this county,” he said.
Members of the council were asked by Cllr Healy if they knew “what it is like to be living in a house with cracks in your ceilings and walls?”
He said he had tabled a motion to highlight the issue “out of pure frustration” at the failure, so far, to include Sligo homes affected by pyrite in the national defective blocks scheme. He said the scheme was far from ideal but added “it is better to be included in something than nothing”. Welcoming members of the Sligo Pyrite Action Group (of which he is PRO) and some homeowners affected by the issue to the public gallery at the meeting, Cllr Healy said homeowners across Sligo felt they were being “discriminated against” because of their exclusion from the scheme, adding that they also feel they are not being listened to and their concerns are not being addressed.
He said the action group was formed three years ago but three years later “we feel we are no further on”.
He said the pyrite issue was affecting homes in every town and village in Sligo - adding that he was speaking only about privately-owned homes, there were other houses, local authority owned and built which had or were likely to have an issue.
Referring to a report they received from the Housing Agency he focused on the use of the word “whether” in their response, when he repeated a line from that report which stated: “It is expected that a report and recommendations as to whether Sligo County Council should be allowed access into the defective blocks scheme will be forthcoming.” Referring to the committee set up by Sligo County Council to deal with the issue, Cllr Healy said he was now asking that committee to “push on” with their efforts.
Councillors commenting were supportive. Cllr Martin Connolly said he could not understand why decisions to include or exclude certain counties were made on a county by county basis: “I can’t actually understand why there are borders involved in this problem. There were no borders when they were selling them the blocks. They weren’t stopping them at the county border. Our county has to be included in this, this should be nationwide when your house is falling down around you, it should not be a county border at all dividing you.”
Cllr Thomas Walsh, referring to the council’s committee to progress the matter, said he understood the committee had done everything required of it “to assure involvement in the defective blocks scheme”.
Cllr Declan Bree said it was important they would “apportion blame where it should lie” which he added “is with the Department and with Government. This Council did the business every time it received a request from the Department it responded efficiently. There is no good reason why the Department would drag its heels on this issue.” He said it was illogical, adding there was “no good reason I can see why Sligo has been left out in the cold. It just appears to me the Department has been lackadaisical and haven’t taken the case for Sligo seriously”.
Cllr Joe Queenan reminded members he was the first councillor to raise by way of motion in 2014 the issue with pyrite in Sligo homes. “I did that then, I did it because up the road in Mayo, in Ballina and Belmullet it was discovered they had pyrite, the same blocks used in west Sligo and south
Sligo. Mayo got on the banner first with Donegal, we [Sligo] were slow. You can blame the Government, they have some blame, but we were slow also when Mayo was doing the work, we weren’t doing the work. I’m sorry to be critical of officials, but Mayo was. I’m sorry to be critical of officials, but we are where we are now. I’ve seen some of these houses five or six years ago with holes in them. I hope now in January we get a positive report from the Department and are included, and we move on.”
Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady, speaking directly to families in the gallery whose homes have been destroyed or damaged, said it was a “sad morning to see people in here who have paid their mortgage, and they are now in here cap in hand looking to see that something could be done for them. It is a very sad reflection on our country”. She urged that they would lobby their TDs to move the issue on, bemoaning the lack of a minister from Sligo “at the bargaining table”. Commenting on Cllr Queenan’s remark that they had been slow, she said: “I don’t think that can be said of the Council as of now. The report we received is most welcome. We need our TDs in here today listening to this. They are the people we want banging on doors.”
Cllr Marie Casserly said she supported the motion. Her understanding was that the report in relation to Sligo houses affected was with the Minister and had to be approved by Cabinet. “The report has been finalised and is in the Department, it is, literally, just a case of them giving the go ahead, the approval of Cabinet and Sligo will then be added [to the scheme].
“In the next few weeks, certainly after Christmas there will be positive news on this,” she said.
Cllr Michael Clarke praised the work done by Council officials on the pyrite issue who had “worked night and day” on the issue. He said the fault lay with the “Department, the Government and our four TDs - there is no doubt about that.”
He added: “Trust has broken down now. Homeowners have received so many false dawns, so many broken promises.
“The frustration is palpable when you visit the people living in these houses where many have spoken to me privately, it is a terrible situation they find themselves in. The Executive here [in Sligo County Council] have done everything they can to progress the situation, and the Executive will work with the councillors to ensure the Department delivers. There is no way any Government can leave Sligo out of this scheme.”
Cllr Dónal Gilroy said it was unfair “for whatever reason” that the decision to include Sligo has been delayed. The cathaoirleach Cllr Gerard Mullaney said he failed to understand why there would be a difference between homeowners in Donegal with mica issues and those in Sligo with problems with pyrite. He also stressed that TDs need to move and push on the issue.
The Chief Executive Martin Lydon said no one was more frustrated than him in terms of wanting to deal with the issues discussed.
“We want to deal with these issues. We are in a process and unless the County Council follows the process things can be moved on technical adjustments and we cannot afford to allow that to happen. We need to follow the process and when it is done to ensure that Sligo is in the [defective blocks] scheme. I don’t want anyone in this chamber to be in any doubt that it is what we are pushing for but as an Executive, we have to follow the process.”
The response (in full) from the Council to Cllr Healy’s motion outlined the up-to-date position from the Council’s perspective is as follows: “Sligo County Council appointed a consultant in November 2022 to prepare a report, in accordance with the requirements of I.S.465: 2018 (amended 2020), which would estimate the extent of properties with concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials within County Sligo. Sligo County Council obtained 16 expressions of interest from homeowners in County Sligo (via Sligo Pyrite Action Group) nominating their properties to be considered for further investigation. “The consultant shortlisted 5 of these properties, for a condition survey and core sampling, having cognisance of their geographical location within County Sligo and their potential for positively identifying with defective blockwork.
“The final report was issued by Sligo County Council to the Dept of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) on May 12, 2023 for their consideration.
The Housing Agency, who are managing the defective blocks issue countrywide on behalf of DHLGH, appointed a consultant to review the report submitted by Sligo County Council in September 2023.
“Over the last number of weeks, the consultant has visited the 5 properties identified within Sligo County Councils report and carried out building condition assessment reports (a visual non-invasive review of the properties both internally and externally).
“It is expected that a report and recommendation as to whether Sligo County Council should be accepted onto the defective blocks scheme will be issued by the Housing Agency to DHLGH over the coming weeks.”