Carlow to be added to defective block compensation scheme
Cracks in the chimney of Keith Brady's house in Tullow, which has been severely damaged by pyrite Photo: Michael O'Rourke Photography
COUNTY Carlow is to be added to the Defective Concert Block Scheme, meaning that homeowners in Carlow will be able to apply for compensation if their homes were built using defective concrete.
On 15 April, James Browne, the minister for housing, local government and heritage, said in a letter to minister of state Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, seen by , that he had approved the recommendation made in the Housing Agency report to designate it as a county under the .
While minister Browne did not lay out an exact timeline for when people in Carlow could start to apply for compensation, he set out his intention to ‘bring the matter to government seeking approval for the making of an order designating Carlow Co Council as being part of the DCB scheme in the coming weeks’.
Reacting to the announcement, Keith Brady, who spoke to last month about how his house outside Tullow had been affected by crumbling concrete, expressed his frustration at how long it had taken for Carlow to be added to the scheme and the lack of a clear timeline moving forward.
“It’s been like this for four years,” Keith said. “We just want someone to give us a date for when we are going to become part of the scheme. There’s us and nine or ten other families, I think. We just want to know why we are second-class citizens. Everyone else seems to be in except Carlow.”
Since speaking to , Keith said that the condition of his house had deteriorated further.
“We had another engineer look at the house and where before there was only cracks on one wall, we can now see it on three walls. Every spring it seems to get worse as you come out of the cold weather.” Keith said: “If nothing is done by the end of the year, we’ll have to think of getting out because I’m worried that the chimney is going to come down and someone will be walking past, either myself, my wife or my kids.”
In his letter, minister Browne said that before Carlow can be recognised as part of the scheme, a motion for a resolution in both houses of the Oireachtas has be moved. After that resolution has passed, minister Browne must bring a second memorandum to the government requesting for the order to be formally made.
Minister Browne said in the letter that he had decided to write to minister Murnane O’Connor as soon as he had made the decision to include Carlow in the scheme, as she ‘has regularly and directly raised this issue with me as minister’.
Cllr Charlie Murphy, who has campaigned on behalf of those affected, said in reaction to the announcement: “I welcome the minister’s decision to recommend that Co Carlow is part of the redress scheme. It’s a very serious situation. I know some of the people affected quite well, and it’s worrying and has been going on now for a few years.”
