‘A national scandal’: Defective concrete homeowners from Mayo hold Dublin protest to make their voices heard
The Mayo Pyrite Action Group have travelled to Dublin on Wednesday to protest outside the Dáil.
Defective concrete block homeowners from Mayo joined householders from Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo, Limerick, Fingal West and Wexford, gathered at Leinster House to call for 100pc redress.
The group is also demanding a full public inquiry into the defective concrete crisis, aiming to shine a spotlight on what they describe as the Government's neglect and "administrative gaslighting" of homeowners.
The Mayo Pyrite Action Group have also reaffirmed their call for a dedicated Defective Concrete Block Committee within Mayo County Council.
Margaret Walsh from Belmullet was one of the organisers of the protest. She is a defective concrete block homeowner and a member of both the Mayo Pyrite Action Group and the 100% Redress Party.
After a private test confirmed that her home contains framboidal pyrite and high sulphur levels in the blocks, Ms Walsh found herself locked out of the current Defective Concrete Block Grant Scheme.
Despite extensive damage, including rising damp, electrical failures, black mould, and serious health complications for her family, her home still fails to meet the scheme's visual inspection threshold.
Ms Walsh organised a public meeting for the Mayo Pyrite Action Group earlier this month. She was disappointed at the lack of engagement from her local representatives.
"We expect them to advocate for us. I know they have limited power to change things nationally, but they can advocate for us at a local level to a national level," she said.
Ms Walsh said she felt today's demonstration was "something worth doing", explaining that the protest had drawn significant attention and support from opposition figures.
"We had a lot of opposition TDs speak to us today, and they are supportive. We are thankful that they are advocating for us, but we are still frustrated, and we need the legislation changed - we are still waiting for the review of the IS465," she said.
She noted that Mayo TD Keira Keogh was the only Government representative to come out and meet protesters.
"Nobody senior came out from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael to meet us. I don't think they should be that cowardly to be honest,
"We would've welcomed the opportunity to shake their hands and say we are still here, and we still have these issues. It's a national scandal, it's disgraceful, and it's just so wrong," she said.
While calls for 100pc redress dominated the protest, Ms Walsh said the group is also focused on fighting for an independent authority to oversee quarry standards.
At present, the Market Surveillance and Building Control Office is the primary body responsible, but campaigners want an independent oversight body established alongside it.
"We are really concerned about the independent oversight of quarries. As customers who might be rebuilding houses, we want to be confident in concrete going forward," she said and added that there has not been an inspection in any quarry in the last four years in Mayo.
She also highlighted the presence of protesters from Wexford, where no grant scheme exists, despite homeowners there discovering Pyrrhotite in their homes - the same mineral causing homes in Donegal to crumble.
"Nobody is raising their heads about it, and that is the housing minister's home county. We were in awe of the horrors going on down there, and there is no one speaking for them at all,
"They are newly built houses, we were told if we visited Wexford, we would see [homes] that are just as bad as in Donegal," she said.
Nicola Byrne, who also helped organise the protest, bought her home in Castlebar in 2021. She says all necessary checks were carried out before the purchase, but she later discovered the house had been built with defective concrete blocks.
Her family had to flee their home when a rodent infestation broke out, with rodents getting in through cracks caused by crumbling concrete blocks that left gaps in their walls.
Ms Byrne has already spent more than €45,000 on essential repairs, yet if the house ultimately has to be demolished, she will still face €1,800 in monthly mortgage repayments, around €2,000 in rent, and a €250,000 shortfall because the scheme's €462,000 cap would not cover the full rebuild.
She said her "jaw was on the floor" for most of the day as she spoke to other homeowners and listened to their stories, "just as you think you've unearthed it all, there are so many layers to this."
"There were people here from Wexford, it was interesting to hear how they have been impacted - and that is Minister Browne's constituency," Ms Byrne said.
"It was news to us all, we were shocked to hear of Pyrrhotite found in Wexford. It just goes to prove it is a national scandal," she added.
She said the protest was a "collaboration between all the counties", that productive conversations had taken place, and campaigners were now preparing to join forces to build a stronger 100pc redress movement.
"The difference now is that Donegal aren't standing alone, we have all come to the realisation that together we will be heard," she said.
Ms Byrne said she was angry at the Government for refusing to engage directly with homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks, arguing that, at the very least, they could invite them to the table and listen to "the lived experience of the people who are watching their homes crumble".
"We went [to Dublin] today because they refuse to come to any of our meetings. Sinn Féin and the 100% Redress party were there, but none of the Government TDs came, and none of the county councillors did either".
Homeowners, she said, feel trapped in a bureaucratic loop, being pushed back and forth between the council and the Government.
"We don't know who's in charge," Ms Byrne said, "The Government says it's the council and the council says it's the Government".
Despite this, she said the protest had given many homeowners renewed momentum.
"We have to be a multi-county collaboration. Next time, the protest will be much bigger and much stronger," Ms Byrne promised.
"It is through the neglect and the failure of the Government that we managed to be pushed together today," she said, "The Government was not there with us today, they showed us no support - that just fuels us on even more."
Ms Byrne said that each county represented at the protest will now form its own committee, with all groups working together to navigate the crisis they have found themselves in.
She pointed to Donegal, where a grassroots movement developed into a political lobbying movement that ultimately saw the election of four councillors and one TD from the 100% Redress Party.
"We all have one thing in common, and that is the frustration of the failure of our Government. Today we formed friendships and a plan," Ms Byrne said.
"There is a new wave of tenacious people who are involved now who have a strong sense of social justice and will not let this rest."
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.