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Saturday 25 March 2023 Dublin: 8°C

# mica

Last year
2022
# defective blocks
Donegal County Council meeting adjourned to address Mica redress protest outside
Senior members of the council went to hear the concerns and frustration of the crowd.
# concrete levy
Committee to be told concrete levy will add €1,200 to cost of the 'most common house types'
The SCSI will tell the committee that the levy will ‘challenge the viability of construction projects’.
# not set in stone
Concrete levy budget climbdown as tax reduced to 5% and pushed out to September
The levy is part of a plan to offset the cost of the mica redress scheme.
# Your Say
Poll: Do you support the new concrete block levy?
Sinn Féin has tabled a Dáil motion to scrap the new levy.
# mica
10% levy on concrete blocks to help fund mica and pyrite redress schemes
The levy is expected to raise €80 million anually and it will be applied from 3 April 2023 at a rate of 10%.
# Fire Safety
Builders' levy should help pay for works on thousands of defective apartments, says Bacik
Government will have to provide assistance, Leo Varadkar has said.
# block party
Mica action groups declare intent to set up political party
The action groups intend to run local and general election candidates.
# mica
Mica homeowners made to feel like 'chancers', committee hears
The Oireachtas housing committee was sitting for a marathon seven-hour evidence session on the Government’s new defective blocks bill today.
# Leaders' Questions
There will be no cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees Ireland takes in, says minister
There were heated exchanges between Independent TD Carol Nolan and the housing minister over the issue of immigration.
# Housing
Government expands mica scheme to include homeowners in Clare and Limerick
The estimated cost of the scheme now stands at €2.7 billion.
# Redress
Mica homeowner group welcomes new report on costings for grant scheme
The report puts rebuild costs at between €150,000 and €421,000 depending on the size and location of the house.
# Donegal
'The anxiety was unbelievable': Mica homeowners feared for their safety during Storm Franklin
Homeowners are still waiting for clarity in relation to the redress scheme that will help them to fix their crumbling homes.
All time
# mica
Mica: How a campaign started around a Donegal kitchen table captured the nation's attention
For some it has been a ten year battle for help with their crumbling homes.
After a ten-year campaign homeowners are still fighting for a scheme that will make it genuinely affordable to repair their homes, Michelle Hennessy reports.
Campaigners said the government "almost got it right" with recent enhancements to the scheme.
They are confident they can reach a resolution in 2022.
'It's just been years of crying, hatred, feeling angry': Three mica homeowners share their stories
# Mica redress
Housing shortages will increase challenges with mica redress scheme, Taoiseach says
He said some people will have to seek alternative accommodation while homes affected are being replaced and repaired.
# Donegal
Mica campaigners in discussions to form new political party
Activist Paddy Diver said he wants the people of Donegal to look out for the county “the way the Healy-Raes look after Kerry”.
# mica
Mica campaigners say average homeowner will have to pay €65,000 under redress scheme
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty today told the government to “go back to the drawing board”.
# crumbling blocks
Mica redress: Package for homeowners capped at €420,000 in €2.2 billion scheme
The scheme will cover an estimated 7,500 homes at a total cost of €2.2 billion.
# Homes
New mica redress scheme 'falls way short of the mark once again', campaigners say
Campaigners intend to march in Dublin again if the government does not revisit its plan.
# Mica redress
Mica redress decision to come before Cabinet ‘soon’, says McConalogue
The Minister for Agriculture said he believed that any proposal brought to Cabinet would deliver 100% redress to homeowners.
# Mica redress
Tax or levy to pay for new Mica redress scheme under consideration by government
It is believed that a cap of approximately €400,000 per home will ultimately be agreed upon.
# mica
Children protest outside Dáil calling for 100% Mica redress scheme
The children said all they want is to feel safe in their homes.
# Mica redress
Mica protesters vow to continue demonstrations if 100% redress demands not met
Tens of thousands protested in Dublin calling for full redress.
Tens of thousands protested in Dublin calling for full redress.
Campaigners say they are considering running candidates in the next election
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said details of redress scheme would not be ready in time for the budget.
# defective blocks
'It’s mental torture': Thousands expected at mica rally as homeowners take long road to Dublin
Some homeowners say they do not feel safe in their homes.
# defective blocks
Mica redress package will be 'one of the biggest ever announced in relation to anything'
Minister Simon Coveney said however that it will not be ready before the Budget.
# mica
Decision on mica scheme may not be made by end of October, junior minister says
A draft report did not recommend 100% redress, as demanded by campaigners.
Voices
Mica-affected homeowner: As a homebuyer in Ireland, you have few rights
Lisa Hone lives with mica in her home every day. She warns householders that they have very little protection on the biggest purchase of their lives.
# mica
'Not what we signed off on': Mica campaigners unhappy with redress report
The report says the total cost of the remediation scheme could be €3.2 billion.
The report says the total cost of the remediation scheme could be €3.2 billion.
Homeowners who have to completely demolish and rebuild their homes would not necessarily get a 100% grant.
Other remediation works would receive a 100% grant and all caps should be increased, the report says.
The report is to be considered by the minister before he brings proposals to Cabinet.
Explainer: Mica, crumbling blocks and the campaign for 100% redress
Mica redress: Tánaiste says 'it's not the government's money' so 'we must have cost control'
Explainer: Mica, crumbling blocks and the campaign for 100% redress
Government plans to deal with the issue are likely to be tabled in the next fortnight.
# Redress
'O'Brien needs to get his act together' say Mica protesters outside Leinster House today
Campaigners are seeking 100% redress for damage to their homes.
# mica
Minister for Housing meets with Mica residents to discuss working group report
The householders, in Donegal and Mayo, are seeking 100% redress for their Mica damaged homes.
# mica
Darragh O’Brien says ‘nothing is off the table’ on mica redress scheme
The Housing Minister will meet mica-affected homeowners later this week.
# defective blocks scheme
Criticism of council after 19 rejections of pyrite homes in Mayo overturned on appeal
Applications had been rejected despite engineers’ reports and tests confirming the presence of pyrite.
# defective blocks
Mica redress: Tánaiste says 'it's not the government's money' so 'we must have cost control'
Affected homeowners are seeking 100% of the costs associated with fixing their homes.
Mica block scandal has broadened to other areas in Ireland, says Tánaiste
Varadkar said the Department of Housing has also received requests from local authorities in Sligo, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary to engage in the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
# Homes
Mica protesters gather outside Fianna Fail think-in to call for 100% redress scheme
Fianna Fáil members gathering in Cavan today were met by around 30 protesters from Donegal.
# pyrite scandal
Mayo homeowners mystified and frustrated over rejection from government pyrite scheme
They were deemed ineligible despite reports from engineers stating their homes are damaged.
# Podcast
The Explainer: What is the mica scandal and how has it affected homeowners?
This week, we talk you through how the mica scandal unfolded, and what it tells us about housing in Ireland.
# the good information project
Mica and pyrite scandals - could it still happen today?
Experts have said new legislation is needed to ensure building supplies are checked by independent parties.
Voices
Larry Donnelly: Donegal takes a strident stand for justice over mica with Boston at its back
The Donegal diaspora in the US is mobilising in support of homeowners seeking compensation for mica damage to their homes.
# Redress
'It's just been years of crying, hatred, feeling angry': Three mica homeowners share their stories
The government is to establish a working group to iron out the kinks in the State grant scheme, but impacted homeowners are not feeling hopeful.
It's been a long road for impacted homeowners and they see no end in sight, Michelle Hennessy reports.
Families who spoke to The Journal said they cannot even afford the initial mica test required to apply for the government's grant scheme.
They say years of being ignored by government has intensified the stress they are already feeling living in homes that are falling down around them.
'We don't have the definitive figure': Housing Minister says number of mica-affected homes could be higher
The Mica controversy explained: Here's why thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin to protest today