McConalogue puts council under pressure over defective block scheme approvals
The minister has called for more urgency in the approval of applications to the new scheme and has called on the council’s Mica Redress Committee to meet
Agriculture minister and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue has called for more urgency in the approval of applications to the new Defective Block Remediation Scheme.
The minister has called for more urgency in the approval of applications to the new scheme, which opened in July, and has called on Donegal County Council’s Mica Redress Committee to meet and consider “holding public meetings or seminars” on the new scheme.
His call for public meetings comes after the first of a series of public meetings around the county hosted by the Miac Action Group was held in Malin Head on Monday night.
“I look forward to councillors on a cross-party basis coming together through the Donegal County Council Mica Committee to ensure that the necessary steps are actioned by the County Council so that all homeowners awaiting approval are urgently transitioned to the new scheme,” he said.
Figures released by Donegal County Council in July, which date to June, show that of 1,275 applications to the scheme, 828 (65%) were “approved or pending approval”, 136 (11%) of applications were “with applicant”, 201 (16%) were “with or expected to go to Housing Agency” and 110 (8%) were described as with the local authority “for assessment”.
The council declined a request to release the most up-to-date figures on the scheme to the Inish Times saying it “is currently preparing a press statement in relation to the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme” which will “provide an up-to-date position and statistics on the scheme”.
In a statement released on Tuesday, McConalogue said he “believes that the new Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme is a very strong one and will serve homeowners well if they can be transitioned on to it promptly”.
“The new scheme has been in place since the start of July but the approval process for transitioning homeowners onto the new scheme has simply been too slow. We urgently need to see approvals given to those homeowners who have returned their approval requests to Donegal County Council so that they can get on with the work of remediating their homes and getting their lives back.”
He said he has requested the council’s Mica Redress Committee to meet “so that committee members can work closely with the County Council Executive to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to expedite all returned applications”.
He said many homeowners have builders waiting to start work and but some have had work stalled “due to the fact that they are still awaiting confirmation of their transition on to the new scheme”.
“Donegal County Council have around 850 applications on hand for whom they have already given a remediation approval and are charged with transitioning on to the new scheme and seeing through to completion. These homes represent the worst affected and most immediate priorities for remediation.”
McConalogue said “it would be very beneficial for the Donegal County Council Mica Committee to assess the reasons why more applicants have not yet had their approvals for transition on to the new scheme processed and to work in support of the County Council Executive and staff in ensuring that all necessary steps are taken for homeowners to receive urgent approval”.
“I have also asked that this meeting of the County Council Mica Committee consider the organisation of public meetings or seminars to fully inform the 850 homeowners that they will be administering under the new scheme on how it works and to answer questions homeowners have on the scheme. I know from talking to many homeowners that they would welcome this.”