MICA homes in Donegal : Mary Lou McDonald calls for 100% Redress after visiting Inishowen

The Sinn Féin leader was speaking following her visit to Carndonagh on Thursday where she met with many of the families accompanied by local Sinn Féin TDs Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Pearse Doherty and Councillor Albert Doherty.

Ms McDonald said: “The Mica scandal in Donegal has devastated families whose homes are literally crumbling around them. These are families who have worked hard and saved hard to buy a home. Now, through no fault of their own, they find themselves in a nightmare situation where their houses are cracking and coming asunder around them. The meeting I had with them was powerful. Despite everything they have gone through, they remain very strong people who are determined to get justice.

“The scheme that the government put in place is not working. Under this scheme, some families are expected to come up with €100,000 or more to contribute to fixing their homes. This is incredibly unfair. These families have been failed by the system.

“This needs to come to an end. The families campaign and demand for a scheme that will cover the cost of rebuilding their houses is right. The only fair solution is for the government to deliver a 100% redress scheme and deliver it urgently. Sinn Féin will keep raising this matter with the government until this happens.”

Meanwhile it has emerged that the Local Property Tax is to be waived for mica affected homeowners, following a long campaign.

Donegal County Councillor and chairperson of the council’s Mica Redress Committee, Councillor Martin McDermott said the full details of the measure are yet to be confirmed. “It is not going to make a huge difference to people’s lives but it’s something the Mica Action Group have been calling for for quite a while. It’s a small step in everything we’re looking for.”

Also on Thursday, Ms. McDonald met with representatives of the Connacht/Ulster University Alliance at Letterkenny Institute of Technology to discuss the group’s application for Technological University status, and pledged her party’s support.