'You can actually hear it cracking': Clare homeowners in fear of crumbling houses

Mary and Seamus Hanley at their home in Drumline, Newmarket on Fergus which is affected by Mica. Picture: Eamon Ward

A number of homeowners in Co Clare are living in fear that their houses will crumble around them after they discovered damaging materials in the blocks holding up their homes.

Martina Cleary, who lives in Crusheen in Clare, has called for government assistance as she watches cracks appearing in her home.

“The concrete blocks have either pyrite or mica in them. So they are minerals and they basically cause the concrete blocks to expand and shatter,” Ms Cleary said.

“The walls of your house start cracking as the concrete blocks give way. Basically, the house begins to come down and eventually, you have to demolish it.

Ms Cleary had a contractor come and examine the walls of her house. It was then she realised she was in trouble. She then called out an expert, who told her that to test the blocks would cost in the region of €10,000.

“It's like living in a house where every day it is crumbling. You can actually hear it cracking. If you sit there with no music or TV on, you can actually hear the blocks crumbling away.” 

Ms Cleary isn’t the only one who is facing the problems brought about by these concrete blocks.

The walls of your house start cracking as the concrete blocks give way. Basically, the house begins to come down and eventually, you have to demolish it

Mary Hanley, a former school Principal in Shannon, has the same issue.

“About a year ago I noticed some cracks in the walls. I thought they were little hairline cracks in walls after I had the insulation pumped into my house.

Mary and Seamus Hanley's home in Drumline, Newmarket on Fergus which is affected by Mica. Picture: Eamon Ward

Shortly after that, Ms Hanley had noticed more cracks, both horizontal and vertical.

“Then we noticed one of the walls was bulging. We got nervous, I got on to an engineer. He told us then, we were in trouble.

She was told that a large number of the blocks will have to be replaced, or her house would eventually collapse.

“It’s a nightmare, to be honest with you, an absolute nightmare,” Ms Hanley said.

Timmy Dooley TD says he knows of around 30 to 40 properties affected by the defective block. He wants it to be recognised as a problem in Co Clare, similar to how it was in Mayo and Donegal.

“In the interest of fairness, and as to not discriminate, I think the scheme (The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme) should be rolled out in Clare, if not nationwide. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel to deal with this problem. Just extend the scheme.” 

Senator Dooley says he has raised the issue in the Senate and is awaiting a response.

The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is available to homeowners in Mayo and Donegal where the home has been damaged by the use of defective concrete blocks in its construction.  Under the scheme, the local authority may approve a grant up to 90% of the costs of repair.

Contacted for comment, the Department of Housing said it was "in communication" with Clare County Council in regard to "their formal request for an extension of the scheme in order to agree a process for collating the necessary evidential data."

The Department said: "Any extension to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grants Scheme would require the same rigorous analysis as that which was put in place prior to the rollout of the scheme in Donegal and Mayo. 

"It would also have to be the subject of budgetary discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform."