'Houses are crumbling around families' – the mica crisis laid bare

Frank Mc Brearty Snr at his home near Raphoe, Co Donegal, which he believes is mica-contaminated. Picture: Brian McDaid

“Everyone’s in dire straits in Donegal,” Frank McBrearty Snr said about the escalating mica scandal from his home in Raphoe, which is beginning to show cracks.

“It’s not just private homes that are involved, it’s council houses, swimming pools, nightclubs, municipal buildings, it’s everywhere," he said.

“This is only the beginning of it. Some of the houses are crumbling around families already but others are just starting to crack now.” 

The gable wall of the house.

Thousands took to the streets in Dublin on Tuesday to demand 100% redress for homeowners hit by the mica scandal.

Muscovite mica, a mineral which weakens concrete, causing it to crack and crumble, was found in concrete blocks used widely in the North-West.

Impurities like mica are supposed to form less than 1% of a concrete block in Ireland but concentrations of 17% have been found in some homes in Donegal.

Mica-contaminated blocks appear to have been used in at least 5,000 homes in the northwest.

Turning 77 in August, Mr McBrearty has been abruptly confronted by the fear that his home, built in 2008 to accommodate him, his wife, their visiting children and grandchildren, may have to be demolished.

Samples taken

Mr McBrearty had samples taken from his home and sent off for lab analysis two weeks ago. But the engineer removing those samples told him that he was “99% sure” they contained mica.

The entire test costs about €6,000, he said, and that’s only the beginning of the cost to rescue their home.

He estimates the entire project – to demolish and rebuild his home – could cost about €1m, depending on how much of it was salvageable. The current redress scheme is capped at €247,500.

Mr McBrearty built his house in 2008 on the site of his old house, where he lived since 1976.

In the rebuild, they preserved some of the pre-existing walls but he suspects that all of the new block work could be mica-contaminated.

“That means the whole house might have to come down. And all those bricks have to be taken somewhere special, they can’t just be dumped."

Cracks are starting to appear.

He said he built his home to last so it could be passed on within the family.

“I have four sons, one daughter and 18 grandchildren.

"We built the house for them, so they could come and visit.

“But if the house tests positive for mica, they can’t come and visit. I wouldn’t expect or want it of them.

Our house is at the early stages. There are cracks on the outside but I’ve been to other houses that are crumbling from mica, houses that have props and scaffolding keeping the walls up.

“How long will it be until our house is like that? Two years, three years, no one knows.

“This house was meant to be left to family in years to come.

“It has a special roof that cost €40,000 alone. It was designed to weather any storm. It was built to last hundreds of years."

“We may need a judicial review to thrash out who is responsible for this. Where does the blame lie? With the supplier or with Government? Someone has to be responsible."

“If the blocks had been tested, none of this would have happened."