Dr. Martina Cleary:

After three years of a very tough campaign, County Clare has finally been admitted into the DCB grant scheme. It should not have taken this long for the Government to admit that the blight of defective concrete blocks was also in County Clare, especially as the Minister himself spoke of the problem of pyrite in Clare as early as 2012. In the three years of reaching this point, our homes have degenerated further and, with them, the health and well-being of those living through this crisis. On 3 July, there was a sense of collective relief for homeowners in this county, who have campaigned for so long, that we are now legally acknowledged and can avail of some assistance. However, there are outstanding concerns regarding the logistical and financial feasibility of this new scheme.

These concerns include the following. The grant does not provide 100% redress. There is no doubt that it will not cover the actual cost of rebuilding or remediation, even for the smaller homes that fall beneath the 120 sq. m tier of calculation.

Homeowners will be tens of thousands of euro short in meeting the true materials and labour costs for a simple builder’s finish. In addition to this, the professional fees incurred for progression through the stages of the scheme will place huge upfront financial burdens on homeowners. Many will not have these resources nor access to loans to cover these, so the scheme will be, in effect, inaccessible for many. It falls far short in every aspect in restoring people’s homes.

With regard to the four- and five-bedroom typical rural family home, it is clear from the SCSI rates and calculations that the cap of €420,000, from which alternative accommodation, storage and professional fees must be deducted, will not cover the rebuild costs. The cap has not been raised in line with recent inflation. These homeowners, with typical four- and five-bedroom family homes, will be potentially facing shortfalls of €80,000 to €100,000.

Penalty-free downsizing or rightsizing, which was a recommendation voted down by the Government in July 2022, would have assisted many in the family homes bracket. This is also particularly relevant for those of advancing years who could downsize and redesign to meet current needs, and there are many of those coming forward in County Clare. These people will not be able to secure bank loans to bridge the current grant shortfall. Many are also depending on the value of their home to avail of the fair deal scheme. They are now discovering that this is no longer a possibility and many are now trapped physically in these homes, often having to live with their children. They are now physically and financially trapped in degenerating homes indefinitely.

Navigating the stages of this prohibitively complex scheme within the limitations of the current building environment will also be impossible for many. Retention of percentages of the grant at the various stages of drawdown, in addition to the many upfront payments for engineers, tradesmen, designers, architects, etc., will make this scheme even more financially inaccessible than the previous one.

There is a hugely burdensome, complex maze of schedules to be completed, with stringent timelines imposed on the homeowner to progress through the scheme. Deadlines placed on the homeowner at all stages are extremely tight, especially within the current climate, while those for the local authority, Housing Agency and appeals panel seem to be quite open-ended. The difference between this and the end-to-end project management of the pyrite remediation scheme is notable and discriminatory.

Overall project management is needed for this scheme, including a database of professionals, builders and trades who are available, knowledgeable and able to take on the rebuilding and remediation of these homes en masseand in a timely manner.

There is no facilitator in place in County Clare, though I was told yesterday that this is in progress. However, it highlights an ongoing inequality. There needs to be equality of resourcing and it must be provided for all designated counties currently in the scheme. This includes equal treatment with regard to all aspects of the administration and funding of the scheme including: establishment of a Housing Authority presence in the mid-west; prioritisation metrics, including fair distribution and allocation of houses entering the scheme; provision of information and support services; regional representation on assessment panels; and the processing and remediation of impacted homes in all counties must be simultaneous at the commencement of scheme and proportionate as well.

Fast-tracking for access to all aspects of SEAI grants must be implemented to assist the DCB homeowners. This includes full access to the one-stop shop option. This would go a long way in helping people to upgrade the heating and insulation requirements in line with current standards. It seems discrimination is already being built into that.

The issue of rebuilding on potentially faulty foundations is already presenting a problem with builders in County Clare. All approached for quotations have included €20,000 to 30,000 to remove and replace foundations as compulsory, not optional, because they are afraid of the potential liabilities if they leave them in place. Obviously, this is not included in the grant scheme.

The fact that there is no letter of assurance for option 1, the demolitions, is not acceptable. If the Government is so sure that leaving these foundations in place is viable, there should then be no difficulty or resistance in also including this letter of assurance for these homes.

There is no provision or consideration of the economic costs of the disposal of all the DCB materials. With potentially tens of thousands of homes impacted across the mid-west, this is an indicator of the total lack of long-term oversight and planning on the part of the Government. One can imagine the environmental impact of where all this material will go as well.

The only mention of litigation within these regulations are potential actions that will be taken against the homeowner. This is grossly offensive and against the principle of natural justice. Impacted homeowners are the victims of this unregulated industry and the non-enforcement of existing regulations. This should have been removed. In addition, there seems to be no movement forward in prosecuting the particular parties in this region.

I have enclosed a copy of the stakeholder feedback, which is 17 pages of feedback on the draft regulations. Little to none of this was taken on board in March.

In conclusion, County Clare is thankful to be in a scheme but we are extremely worried about how it will be rolled out. We are worried that the ongoing physical and mental health impacts are manifesting in this county after three years. We are in dread that we will be put through what Donegal and Mayo have been put through for more than a decade.