Local authority bought five houses it knew had mica

Donegal County Council housing staff were aware the houses, in An Crannla estate in Buncrana, had defects in the building blocks, caused by mica, after an investigation by the area housing engineer.

Donegal County Council did not inform the Department of Housing that it was purchasing five mica-affected houses when it secured funding to complete the sale.

Emails released under freedom of information, and obtained by the Irish Examiner, show that Donegal County Council housing staff were aware the houses, in An Crannla estate in Buncrana, had defects in the building blocks, caused by mica, after an investigation by the area housing engineer.

One email, from November 2020, sent to five council housing staff reads: "The properties have mica and will require significant remedial work."

Two weeks later, another email states that the detailed structural survey carried out noted: "While the sample blocks appear visually sound, some level of cracking was noted and there is a potential risk of further degradation with freeze/ thaw action."

A further email from one housing staff member to an engineer refers to the issue of mica in the blocks.

Despite council housing staff being aware of the defects, it bought the five houses, at a total price of €600,000, with funding from the Department of Housing in early 2021.

"Refurbishment works" were priced at €68,650.

It is understood the council had decided to buy the houses from the developer who was keen to sell the properties as there were a number of long-term tenants in the houses who had a 10-year lease agreement.

One council source told the Irish Examiner that there was "no sense of urgency of any significant mitigation to address any of the ongoing deterioration".

Councillors in Donegal County Council were not officially informed that the houses had mica in the blocks and the council did not vote on the acquisition of the houses.

Under the Social Housing Capital Programme, local authorities have had delegated powers to acquire properties that they themselves identify as suitable, value for money and compliant with building regulations.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing told the Irish Examiner: "Local authorities would not generally consult with the department in advance of acquisitions, and they didn’t in the case mentioned.
"The delegated sanction for local authorities to acquire properties for social housing was to reduce bureaucracy around the delivery of social homes."

Donegal County Council has not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Work on the legislation to provide redress for mica-affected property owners is ongoing, and it is hoped the €2.2bn scheme will be brought to the Dáil in the near future.

Last week, the Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien wrote to the Mica Action Group to tell it that the controversial sliding scale element on the scheme would be removed. 

The sliding scale would have seen some houseowners forced to contribute more to the cost of rebuilding their home.

The minister's letter noted that the final scheme will be based on an analysis by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, which is set to be completed by the end of the month.

The new scheme will instead see payments based on eight different types of houses.

More than 7,000 houses in several counties including Donegal, Sligo and Mayo are affected by mica, a mineral that can cause blocks to disintegrate after rain, wind, snow and other cold-weather events.