Malin Head family facing another Christmas in home that was condemned 12 years ago

The home of Michael and Eileen Glackin in Ballygorman is a tale of two opposites. If you stand on their street and look ahead, you are met with breathtaking views of the Atlantic.

But, turn around, and you see a ‘nightmare’- a crackling, crumbling ’ home that has been ravaged by mica/defective blocks.

The couple built the property in 1999 and it was to be their forever home, where they would raise their children and enjoy the beauty of Malin Head.

However, cracks later began to appear in the structure and over the years, the damage continued to get worse.

Just some of the issues include black mould and buckling windows which Michael had to be seal in case the wind ‘blows them out.’ Mice are getting in through the cracks and the house is ‘impossible’ to heat.

Part of the roof has detached and there’s ‘six inches of a turn’ in one of the cornerstones.

Michael ‘does not know how it’s still standing’. During a recent storm, he sat up all night in case part of the house fell down.

Walls are jutting out and ‘bellying’ by four inches in places. Plaster is cracked and blocks crumble in Michael’s hands.

The family, like many others, have been waiting for a suitable and accessible redress scheme to be put in place and hoped that by this Christmas, they would see light at the end of the tunnel.

But, Michael said that is not the case. The revised scheme announced a year ago is not yet live. Campaigners are calling for the immediate release of the announced 20k accommodation and storage grant to help people in unsafe homes, as well as the swift processing of applications and the testing of foundations. They have also urged the government to provide alternative/emergency housing funding and modular homes during remediation works. Seven of Michael’s immediate family, including his parents, are living in houses impacted by mica. His brother built a home, only to find it was cracking and he ‘never lived a day inside it.’ However, he is still paying a mortgage on the property.

Michael pleaded with the government to help homeowners immediately.

"They have to, before someone is killed.”