*Cracks running along the walls of a home impacted by pyrite in Clare. Photograph: Joe Buckley
ENNIS based, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) has become the first Clare politician to call on the Minister for Housing to carry out an investigation to ascertain how defective concrete blocks containing pyrite and mica were used to construct homes across the country.
In a proposal before the December sitting of Clare County Council, Cllr Howard appealed to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien (FF) “to initiate an investigation into how inferior blocks containing Mica and Pyrite were used to construct homes”.
By putting forward the motion, Cllr Howard said she was hopeful of sending a message to people around Clare “who are watching their houses crumble”. She stated that it was “terrible” to see Clare currently omitted from the redress scheme which currently only includes Donegal and Mayo affected homeowners.
Answers are needed to find out “who was responsible for standards, 2ho was responsible for allowing that product to leave a quarry or wherever it was manufactured, to go into someone’s home, so that twenty years later, their house is falling around them”.
Storm Barra was referenced by the Ennis woman who admitted that she did not like such weather events, “all that night I could only think about people whose houses were affected by pyrite and mica”.
An investigation must happen independent of the redress scheme “so it won’t be used as an another excuse to delay,” the 2019 local election poll-topper stressed. In recent months, Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF) and Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) voiced their support for an investigation but said it should not occur until after the redress scheme is finalised.
“My house was safe during the Storm but theirs wasn’t,” Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) commented as she backed the call for an investigation, “somebody needs to be held responsible”.
As he voiced his full support for the motion, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) argued that the matter needs to be discussed nationally. “Nobody seems to think they have any responsibility, it is imperative that there is responsibility on the manufacturers”.
Hayes referred to recent criticism of the County Council at a public meeting of the Clare Pyrite Action Group which he labelled as “misinformation”. He added, “from my information, Clare County Council have acted totally honourably in their dealings with the Clare Pyrite Action Group. I think there’s a bit of misinformation out there. As a local councillor I wasn’t invited to the last meeting. Several people contacted me to say I wasn’t at the meeting. We didn’t actually get an invite as councillors”. He said the “wrong picture” was painted at the meeting by blaming the Council.
Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of the Council said he became aware of the meeting after it was held, “I do believe significant criticisms were laid against officials in Clare County Council,” he acknowledged. He flagged, “we can often be the target of people’s concerns and frustrations” while noting it was a Government issue to deal with the redress scheme.
