'I feel like crying all the time': woman fears for her life in mica-affected home
She Of Doherty By Of Back Co Donegal Story Pyrite Homeowners Buncrana, Ellen At Of The Collapsed Property Is Ludden, In One Photos Affected The Pyrite Wall
A woman whose garden wall collapsed because of defective blocks said she lives in terror every night that the chimney of her home will crash in on top of her as she sleeps.
Ellen Doherty from Ludden near Buncrana, Co Donegal, was in bed last Saturday night when the back garden at the property collapsed during strong wind and rain.
She said her insurance company will not cover the cost of replacing the wall because her home is affected by mica — one of the thousands of properties built with defective concrete blocks.
Ellen and her two sons live in the property that she and her now-deceased husband built in 2004.
Describing it as their forever home, she said: “I have a house that is worthless. Nobody would buy this house. I know I wouldn’t. I feel like crying all the time.”
She said if the wall had fallen during the day, someone could have been badly injured or killed because it backed onto a busy road.
“It fell up against the clothesline which stopped it going any further. A wee bit broke off and hit my oil tank but it didn’t burst it or damage it. We could have had an environmental hazard to deal with.
"I am in limbo now. I don’t know where to turn.”
She explained that there are cracks on the inside and outside of her house, causing her a lot of concern because she lives in an area that is exposed to high winds.
“I am fretting about the chimney because if that chimney comes in, I am dead. It runs up the side of my bedroom. It is like a living nightmare.”
The Defective Concrete Block bill, which underpins a €2.7bn redress scheme, was signed into law in July. More than 100 amendments to the bill were tabled. Donegal TD Joe McHugh lost the Fine Gael party whip after voting against it.
It is understood that a construction industry levy, aimed at raising around €80m for the government’s redress scheme for homes built with defective blocks, could be contained in Budget 2023, to be unveiled on September 27.
Campaigners say that the Government’s €2.7bn scheme does not offer 100% redress for homeowners.
The majority of homes affected by mica are in Donegal and Mayo, although houses in a number of other counties have also been affected.
Mica Action Group member Paddy Diver said the incident at the Doherty home is a warning of how dangerous the mica situation is, given the promixity of the wall to the roadway, and to Ellen’s clothesline.
He said that people affected by mica in their homes do not want another winter of worry ahead, because of the fear of wet and windy weather impacting on the structures of their homes.
He appealed to people with concerns about defective blocks in their homes to turn out at the Cost of Living protest in Parnell Square in Dublin on September 24, to keep the pressure on the government in relation to the redress scheme.
Earlier this year, thousands of people gathered in Dublin for a protest demanding 100% redress scheme for homes affected. A protest was also held outside the recent Fianna Fáil think-in in Mullingar.