Mica not affecting homes in the north, says housing minister Deirdre Hargey

She was asked by the SDLP candidate for Foyle Sinéad McLaughlin for her 'asessment of the scale and effectiveness of surveys and inspections of homes in Northern Ireland to determine if they are affected by mica degradation'.

The minister replied: "No issues have been reported to my Department regarding mica mineral issues within the social housing sector."

Across the border in Donegal thousands of homes have been affected by pattern-cracking caused by the presence of muscovite mica in blocks used to build houses over the past number of decades.

But thus far this has not been reflected in Derry.

Back in 2017 a short desk top study conducted by Derry City and Strabane District Council building control officers identified that mica-affected blocks had been supplied to one social housing site in Derry.

However, a report to the DC&SDC Environment & Regeneration Committee, stated: "The consulting engineer advising the developer was content that the test results, while confirming the presence of some muscovite mica within the test samples, indicated that the level of this mineral in the blocks was below the recommended maximum value and should therefore, be satisfactory for use."