Irish government are evil bastards-your worst nightmare. MICA scandal.

[Sofaking355]

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/07/blocks-like-weetabix-how-mica-scandal-upended-lives-in-ireland

www.euronews.com/2021/10/08/ireland-s-mica-scandal-owners-of-crumbling-homes-march-in-dublin-seeking-full-compensation

Basically across Donegal in Ireland, over 20000 people have their houses falling down due to deflective blocks. The people have been marching in Dulin looking for 100 percent redress but the govt will only pay out 90 percent and people can't afford the 10 percent. Isn't it your worst nightmare?

*Also they're 5 bed houses in Donegal/Sligo. So worth a lot less than a 2 bed in Dublin.

Don't get me wrong, it's not great that the tax payer is footing this bill, but given that the construction companies won't, I don't know what else can be done*

the reason the properties are cheaper in these places is that they are not really desirable places to live for many. In the same way people on mn bang on about having to live out of London and the southeast and resenting it.

Yes the property is cheaper and you get more for your buck but that's not relevant, the people paid for it fair and square and it was the government's job to regulate it in the same way they regulate schools and hospitals etc.

A problem is that these houses are far bigger than the national average. If I'm in a two bed terraced house it's difficult to countenance funding a replacement 5 bed detached house for someone else

the state paid out for the Dublin houses when it happened there-100 percent redress but supposed because you are a Dub you expect privilege and to fcuk with the rest of the country?

I am shocked anyone thinks this is ok. It's a huge failing. I can't imagine the stress these families must be under. The same applies to the cladding scandal here.

I can sort of see both sides Irish taxpayer already is hosed with outrageous taxes but truly what’s the alternative?

Thought the title was a bit strong, then realised it was the about housing seemingly buying a house and having it go up in value is the most important thing for most Irish and British people.

Personally I don't think the Irish government should bail out home owners. If it was understood there was some risk to home ownership, they might not be as stupidly high as they are now, which is having a negative effect on all of society.

@tttigress it's not about houses going up in value. Aside from the gross errors at the outset, forcing homeowners to pay 10% when the cost of raw building materials has skyrocketed simply isn't fair. I couldn't magically come up with 10% of rebuilding costs for my house, aside from all the extra payments & hassle they will incur

If it was understood there was some risk to home ownership, they might not be as stupidly high as they are now

God this just sounds so wrong headed. It shouldn't be acceptable to have the 'risk' that builders build houses of faulty materials and there be no redress. To the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. That's appalling.

The crazy prices are a totally different problem, due to lack of supply.

Im a tax payer in dublin in a terraced tiny house but i think the government should stop translating everything in to irish and use the money to help these people.

It's about regulation and lack of
When we buy a house we think building regulations have ensured said build is fit for purpose. We can't drive a car without insurance so how are house builders getting away with building without adequate cover
Ireland has had shocking regulations for years. Friends moved over a built a monstrosity in a beautiful area because they couldn't get planning permission where they lived in England. They reckoned anything would get passed

Amazing really. The Irish gov't's that said they couldn't interfere in the housing market actually did to benefit landowners and developers. Landowners could sell sites each year, up to €40, 000 tax free. The only payment on those sites was the stamp duty due on the transaction by the purchaser. In most cases, the purchaser paid that stamp duty out of already taxed earnings.

Irish gov't's also intervened to the benefit of developers, adding development loopholes. Yet, there were sermons about laissez faire when prices were rising hand over fist. And now we see they didn't even put in protections for the buyers. I suppose it isn't in the remit of a gov't to cover their citizens. Very selective interests.

It was up to €40,000 tax free, each year. The higher tax rate band for ordinary paye (paye as you earn) workers started at around €13,000 at the beginning of the Celtic Tiger era. It did increase, but never could a paye worker come within a should of being able to earn €40,000 each year without any tax or insurance on it.

@IComeInPeace

Im a tax payer in dublin in a terraced tiny house but i think the government should stop translating everything in to irish and use the money to help these people.

Good idea.

I am also fine with the money being spent on this. It needs to be sorted now.

I'm impressed they are offering 90%

The people I know that have suffered with crumbling blocks have been left to deal with it by themselves. Even the ones who bought their houses from the local council.

I'm not sure sure if I have added the link below correctly but it is just an example to show the level of neglect of the North West of Ireland in comparison to the rest of the country.

The level of ignorance in some of the replies I have read on here is disgusting. We are tax payers too but have little to show for it over the years. We have no rail network, no natural gas infrastructure, the national roads are in a constant state of repair because rather than fix them right its little stretches of road patched up a bit at a time. Our emergency services are stretched to their limit because much of Donegal is so rural. Depending on where you are, an ambulance could be almost 90 mins away in a case of an emergency.

People in the North West region (Donegal / Sligo / Leitrim) have put up with being forgotten about for so long. I am so proud of them for taking to the streets with their protests. All they are asking for is that the Irish government treat them as they would if this was happening on their own doorstep in Dublin. When the Pyrite issue came to light several years ago on the East Coast and people in Dublin and surrounding areas campaigned for redress the government supported them then. They were fully compensated for the repairs to their homes, received additional support to covers costs such as storage fees for belongings /renting somewhere else whilst repairs were ongoing etc.

People in Donegal etc are just looking to be treated the same. I have family members who have been told they need to demolish their home. It is unsafe to live in, bits of walls are literally crumbling at their feet. They have just bought a caravan to live in until the house can be tumbled and rebuilt - this could take several years. There is so much building work and repair work going on that there is a shortage of builders. In the meantime they are having to pay a fee to store all their furniture & belongings that obviously won't fit in a caravan. All this and they still have ten years left to pay on a mortgage for a house that is a crumbling ruin and absolutely worthless.

I wish the whole country would get behind them and show support rather than coming out with this nonsense about not being happy about the cost to the taxpayers. We pay taxes too! The map in the link below shows what our taxes are paying for, eg rail and motorway networks, big city infrastructure, hospitals etc. You'll notice that none of them reach the North West!

Apologies for the long rant but this is just so close to home and it affects so many families through no fault of their own. The government need to take responsibility for not regulating these companies who were allowed to cut corners and use sub standard materials without any checks made or the need to have insurance in place in the event of any issues such as this arising.

pbs.twimg.com/media/FBKQm-lXMBoVnTf?format=jpg&name=large

This is why I voted YABU but I definitely think that these homeowners have been completely shafted by the system and the system is completely broken:
twitter.com/MicaRedress/status/1403754263709425670

The system allowed for Self-Regulation and Self-Certification.
The system is so stacked against the homeowner in Ireland that I don't know what, apart from handing the keys back to the lending institutions en-masse (as they effectively own these properties until the mortgage is cleared on the property) there is very little that the owners can do. Let the banks and lending institutions take on the building companies and the regulators and 'the system' and see how long it takes them to get results.