Thousands of people assembled outside Donegal County Council in Lifford over the weekend to demand 100% redress for homeowners whose houses were made with defective mica blocks.
The houses in question were made of weak materials and as a consequence many are at risk of collapse. Over 4,000 houses are believed to be affected by the issue across counties Donegal and Mayo.
While the government announced a redress scheme at the end of 2018, homeowners were expected to bear 10% of the cost. This was not the case the pyrite redress scheme in Dublin, which saw the government bear 100% of the cost.
The protest, which was organised by the Lifford Mica Group and the 100% Redress No Less group, featured two affected homeowners as speakers, as well as local Paddy Diver and MIchael Doherty from the Mica Action Group.
Talks between organisers and the government are ongoing, and the Action Group says they will continue to push for full redress.
đź’Ż% Redress!
Fantastic turnout in Lifford today. Great to see so many people standing in solidarity with Mica affected families.
No more delays or uncertainty! 100% redress is needed now for families whose home are crumbling.#MicaRedress #SupportMicaFamilies pic.twitter.com/7uOeslfBf7
— Thomas Pringle T.D. (@ThomasPringleTD) September 11, 2021
A little recap from a brilliant day yesterday in Lifford
A massive thank you to everyone involved in helping organise this demonstration and especially to those of you who turned up in droves to support the #MicaRedress campaign
September is HUGE for us and we cant let up pic.twitter.com/GqNt82ssGr
— Paddy Diver (@PaddyDiver4) September 12, 2021
Additionally, protesters gathered in Cavan last week outside the Fianna Fáil “think-in” to pressure the government further on the issue.
This is the reality for one of our families this week, others have already gone through this painful stage, while more are nearing Demolition Day. Homes continue to crumble with many homeowners simply unable to access the current scheme. Urgent support is needed! #micaredress pic.twitter.com/PmPbOsxrct
— MAG (@micaactiongroup) August 17, 2021
Earlier Gript interviewed several of the Mica protesters, including Paddy Diver outside the Convention Centre. A link to that video can be found below.
Donegal and Mayo Mica protesters demonstrate outside the Convention Centre as thousands of homes at risk of collapse. #micaredress #gript https://t.co/JtCgUZ5LRk
— gript (@griptmedia) June 15, 2021