Mica homeowners set to escalate campaign with occupation of council offices

Defective concrete blocks campaigners are set to escalate their campaign for emergency accommodation for homeowners living in uninhabitable houses by occupying a council building.

Paddy Diver of 100% Redress No Less has called for homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks and their supporters to stage a sit-down occupation of Donegal County Council’s office in Carndonagh at 12noon on Thursday.

“It’s going to be as peaceful as we want”, he said. “It’s time to see what happens when we cross the line.
“I don't mind if people don’t want to go in [to the building]. It's going to be in and we're going to occupy a government building and people will have their sleeping bags and tents and some will stay through the night and some will love to stay the night.”

He said the situation where emergency accommodation has not been provided for homeowners living in unsafe homes is “completely and utterly morally wrong”.

Calling on the public to support the protest, he said: “If the public doesn’t stand up for this, what are they going to stand up for?” he said.

The announcement of the planned occupation comes following weeks of mounting frustration on the part of campaigners calling for more urgency from Donegal County Council and the Department of Housing to deal with the worst cases of homeowners living in unsafe homes. Around 300 protesters staged a demonstration at the council’s headquarters in Lifford last week when Mr Diver said campaigners were prepared to escalate the campaign if they did not see urgent action to help homeowners.

He said the planned sit-in protest is “not a vendetta” against the council but added campaigners believe the local authority must “represent the people stronger and harder”.

Mica group warns of action as council raises ‘inappropriate behaviour’

Exchange of letters reveals growing tensions between defective concrete blocks campaigners and Donegal County Council

The council wrote to the Mica Action Group last Friday following the demonstration in Lifford saying it has sought a delegation to meet with the minister for housing to discuss the issue of alternative accommodation and the early release of accommodation grants from the new redress scheme amounting to €20,000, which is a key demand from campaigners.
The Department of Housing has requested details from the council of the cases of households who are seeking emergency accommodation.

Lisa Hone, chair of the Mica Action Group, replied to the council saying that if solutions are not delivered quickly, “it is inevitable that there will be more direct action in an attempt to make themselves heard and understood”.