We need to get these bricks tested right away

DAVID JENKINS RED ISLAND, SKERRIES

THIS is not the type of thing that old-age pensioners should have to deal with. I bought this house with my wife back in the early 1990s and have had no problems until the 2010s.

The side of my house is completely covered in cracks and looks in extremely poor shape. I didn’t want to paint over them because the minister [Darragh O’Brien] and powers-that-be need to see the extent of the damage for themselves.

Basically, the lower blocks are literally dissolving, a bit like what’s happening to the homeowners in Donegal.

But we don’t know the cause of it, to be honest, which is why we need these bricks tested right away.

Minister O’Brien came up to visit us about six weeks ago and brought some engineers along with him.

He said he will do what he can for us, so hopefully he will be able to provide us with some sort of redress scheme.

I suppose time will tell whether it’s good to have a Housing Minister in your constituency. Some of our neighbours already had their houses repaired but at their own expense.

They should get their money back, while those who can’t afford to fix their property themselves should be given the funds to do so. Thankfully, the inside of our house isn’t impacted by the cracks and there is no structural damage that I’m aware of. But who knows what the consequences are for holding off on these repairs in the long run?

Sealing up these cracks will only do so much and they’re coming back faster and bigger than ever before.

Time is not on our side – which is why we need the Government to take charge of this issue right away.