*Mary Hanley speaking with Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien outside her home in Drumline. Photograph: Joe Buckley.
Imminent action is needed on the inclusion of Clare in the Defective Concrete Block Scheme, an affected homeowner in the county has said while revealing the toll it has taken on mental health.
Mary Hanley welcomed the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien (FF) to her home in Drumline, Newmarket-on-Fergus on Friday afternoon to clearly highlight the issues pyrite is having in the county.
Dozens of members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group attended the visit as did Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF), Deputy Joe Carey (FG), Senator Timmy Dooley (FF), Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Cllr PJ Ryan (IND), Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) and Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF).
Assurances were given by the Minister, Ms Hanley told the gathering on Friday afternoon. “Our houses are crumbling down around us, we don’t have time on our side. Our young people in their thirties and forties, they have huge mortgages, they have children and houses crumbling, all of that has to be taken into account. Then there are people like myself who are on our pensions, we certainly don’t have forever to wait, I don’t have ten years to wait, I could be six feet under so I want my house replaced and repaired”.
Homeowners in Clare cannot afford to wait a decade, the former principal of St Caimin’s Community School stated. “A number of my past pupils in this area who are in their early thirties and have young children with huge mortgages but their houses are crumbling down around them. The young people don’t have time because they have heavy mortgages, I’ve spoken to quite a lot of young people in this area, they have serious problems and we need to look after those young people because they are running into difficulty financially. The older people and there are quite a lot in this area, a number of them are well into their seventies, they are not well and this has really knocked them for six, they feel let down and disappointed”.
She added, “I know what it is like, they are suffering in silence, some people are getting quite ill, there is a mental health issue here, some of us are tough out and are well able for it but I’ve had many sleepless nights”.
Following core sampling, the Hanley home built in 1988 was found to be category four which recommends demolition. The Vice Chair of the Clare Pyrite Action Group is adamant much more than the 72 members of their Group are impacted by pyrite. “It is a shame that so many people in Co Clare and it’s not just sixty or seventy, there are hundreds of houses in Co Clare with defective concrete blocks, I think we’re hitting the tip of the iceberg”.
More people will join the group following the Minister’s visit, she believed while expressing confidence that the Dublin Fingal TD would be influenced solely by the evidence in front of him. “I think the Minister is happy enough with whatever is in front of him at the moment, he is not stupid, he knows well there are more houses in Co Clare but they haven’t come forward. We encourage them to come forward, there is strength in numbers, it is very easy to contact the Clare Pyrite Action Group, it is confidential and we don’t spread news around. Once they meet other people with the same problem, then they get more confidence, it is reassuring to know you’re not the only person in this position”.
