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MINISTER FOR HOUSING Darragh O’Brien has said the impact of homeowners with Pyrite or defective Mica blocks in their homes is not being ignored by the government.
Families in Donegal and Mayo have recently staged protests over their dissatisfaction with the State scheme that was set up to help them fix the significant structural damage to their homes.
Homeowners with defective concrete blocks containing the mineral muscovite Mica have said many families cannot even afford the €5,000 Mica test required to initially apply for the scheme.
They have also argued that the grants will not cover the level of work required on their homes, some of which have to be completely demolished and then rebuilt.
The Defective Concrete Blocks remediation scheme opened for applications in June 2020 and it has five options ranging from external wall replacement (€49,500) to full demolition and rebuild (€247,500). The scheme allows owners to claim up to 90% of the cost up to those limits.
Cabinet was told today that 433 people in Donegal have engaged with the scheme so far. Homeowners in Mayo with issues in their homes due to Pyrite are also covered under this grant scheme.
After the Cabinet meeting, Minister O’Brien in a statement said he has met with representatives, action groups and local authorities on the matter in recent weeks and that “the devastation and stress of affected homeowners was not being underestimated or ignored by government”.
His department said limits are a feature of grant schemes and ensure that the schemes can be budgeted for with the potential financial liability known at all times and also to ensure that the available budget can benefit the majority of properties and the maximum number of people.
“Where there are issues arising, both my department and I are continuing to liaise with officials, local authorities and local action groups on how they may be overcome,” O’Brien said.
“I visited Co Donegal last August to officially open the scheme and acknowledged that overcoming this issue is a major challenge. I met with the Mica action group in early February 2021 and requested further information from them in relation to their concerns with the scheme. My department and I have been working through their document which we received five weeks ago and we are liaising with other departments and agencies to figure out how best to address some of the concerns raised.
“The existing scheme was informed by the work of an expert panel and finalised in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As such, any changes to the scheme would require a whole of government approach.”
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I prefer mars to snickers. The past history of either is not really that important
A combination of factors Val. 4 billion years ago Mars was a much warmer place than today, as the planet had not cooled sufficiently since its formation. The interior of the planet at that time was similar to Earth’s today, i.e. a thin crust floating on a molten interior giving rise to volcanoes such as at Olympus Mons. The interior, as on Earth, is made primarily of iron, and in such instances where the core is molten, this iron creates a magnetic field (such as can be seen on Earth). The magnetic field protects the planet from solar radiation. This radiation breaks H2O molecules down into their respective parts – Oxygen and Hydrogen. With the cooling of the planet’s interior the magnetic field breaks down allowing the solar radiation in which then breaks down the H2O. The hydrogen is too light to remain on Mars’ surface (bear in mind Mars has only1/3 the gravity of Earth) and floats to the top of the atmosphere where, now that the magnetic field is gone, solar winds are allowed to tear the hydrogen away from the planet and carry it into space and ionising other particles which are also stripped away. As the atmosphere thins the planet cools even further. Any water that remains becomes locked in the rocks, any oxygen which remains ends up bound in CO2. The process is a relatively fast one. See this article from NASA on the process.
great comment
Global warming ;)
Deadly bit of news. Little bit disappointed by the artists image though. Surely Mars then wouldn’t have looked the same as now i.e. red and dusty, if it had an ocean would it? Surely it would have looked a little bit closer to our own planet. Raises serious questions about what happened there for an entire ocean to dry up also.
That would really depend on whether or not the ocean was there long enough for life to evolve. Our planet only looks like it does because of the plant life, if you look at the deserts you get an idea of how it would’ve looked if life didn’t happen. The only difference I’d put into the artists impression is a bit of cloud cover, maybe.
The view of the sky from the surface of Mars is blue, like Earth. NASA admitted that they touch those shots “for effect”.
the sky is only blue at sunrise and sunset
How I wish the human race could solve our problems here and explore inner and outer space together. The trillions spent on war could feed and clothe us all and used to expand our understanding of our home. The universe.
It will never happen, but still.
Who cares we should be looking after our own planet
Alan, we may need a new planet. Mars may become important in the same way as the USA was. Who says we must only live on one planet?
The fact that there was once water on Mars is old news. The mainstream news is only catching on now?
Read the first 2 lines of the article please.
It says that in the article, this is not news of water on the planet, it is news of the remnants of a particular ocean.
Ah crap, apologies folks. I read the article but the first couple of lines must have indeed escaped my attention! Whoops.
have your say