Thousand of Donegal homeowners to attend Dublin Mica Redress protest

The protest on Friday, which has the rally call ‘Go Big or Go Homeless’ will begin at the Gardens of Remembrance at 12pm, travelling towards O’Connell Bridge.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on the Capital for the peaceful demonstration, with Inishowen people living in the UK already booking flights to Dublin in order to attend.

A number of businesses around the county have also confirmed they will close on Friday to enable staff to travel to Dublin and join with affected homeowners.

Despite the growing support, campaigner Paddy Diver urged people not to let others ‘fight the fight’ for them and stay away on Friday.

He said every single person and ‘feet on the street’ is needed.

“We will walk the whole way towards O’Connell Bridge and when we get there we will decide what way we are going. We need feet on the street, there is no time or for excuses. If anyone in Donegal has mica in their home then they need to be there or send a representative.

“No-one should let others fight the fight for them. This campaign has been fought by many people but there are others who have not been there and should be. Anyone who does not turn up to this march is wrong. How would you look yourself in the mirror in the morning, knowing others are fighting for you? It’s critical that you be there. We have got the government to change their mind and look at this, but they could come back and say you’re getting this or that or a true 90-10. It’s only with pressure from us that we can make them come back with 100% redress.”

Paddy told how he will be ‘heartbroken’ if numbers on Friday are lower than the previous demonstration in June.

He added how everyone is impacted by mica, whether directly in their own home, through a family member or neighbour or by their use of buildings like schools and community centres which are also cracking and crumbling due to defective blocks.

“Businesses in Donegal are closing and rightly so. This is the biggest fight of our lives, This one trip to Dublin could save a homeowner 30,000 euro if it makes them give 100%. If thousands upon thousands can travel from Donegal to go to an All Ireland quarter final then we can go for this. Even if you’re not directly affected, take a look at your neighbour, look at the stress they are under. They deserve to get their lives back in order. If we don’t turn up in big numbers then we are going to lose this.”

Paddy has been appearing on radio stations across the country in recent days to implore people in other counties to attend but highlighted how the campaign began in Donegal, to ‘massive credit.’

“There are people who I know have mica and they’re not going to Dublin. I don’t know how I’m going to look them in the eye. This is the biggest fight in the history of Donegal. In years to come, when your grandchildren ask you where you were on this day, what will you tell them? We are nearly there now - have no regrets.”

Paddy said that the ‘eyes of the world’ are on the campaign.

“It has caught the attention of the whole of Ireland. We can’t land with 5,000 people. We need even more than last time or they will think we’ve lost momentum. We will be laughed at - they will say we’re not ready for the fight. Every family that has been affected by this has a duty to go and help end this nightmare.

“People out there are making the effort to go. If you were sick, you’d take the day off work so take it off for this. I’d ask every business to close for this and if an employee asks for the day off to attend, please give it to them. If you can’t go for a good reason then send someone else in your place and get them to take someone else.”

Paddy also urged people in Derry to go to Dublin and show their support for their neighbours.

“From day one, the support from Northern Ireland has just been brilliant. There are a lot of people in Northern Ireland - Derry, especially - who are affected by this. They have family members with mica, or they are visitors to here or the own a holiday or second home that has mica. They are not being left behind. We are fighting for them too. We are putting a massive cry out there for our neighbours in the North to come out on Friday and help us.”

Eileen Doherty, a family representative on the Defective Blocks Working Group and long-time campaigner, said the momentum is continuing to build, particularly in the wake of the ‘very disappointing’ report submitted by the department representatives and civil servants in the working group on Friday night.

The report did not recommend 100% redress for demolition and claimed the State could be left with a 3.2 euro billion bill if the scheme is changed. This is in direct dispute to the views of the family representatives in the group, who have said they will not sign off on it.

Ms Doherty said the report has put even more ‘fire in the bellies’ of homeowners, who ‘need to get to Dublin to outline how we need a deliver a fair and equitable scheme for all.’

“100% was given to pyrite and we expect the same treatment. Our houses are in a mess through absolutely no fault of our own.”

Eileen outlined how questions were asked on various forums this week over why the Government and taxpayers should have to ‘foot the bill.’

She told how, when campaigners approached the Department of Housing in 2013, they outlined to them how they had exhausted every avenue possible in terms of seeking redress - home insurance, home bonds and looked at the legal route, but to no avail.

The ‘only option’ was government redress and the government had ‘presided over a system of self certification during the boom that ultimately failed’.

“They presided over a system that did not work and that was not our fault. They said that the pyrite situation would never happen again and it did.”

Eileen confirmed that the 3.2 billion cited in the report were not the figures of the family representatives and ‘were not discussed with us in any way during the working group meetings’.

“They don’t understand the scale of this and neither do we, so how can you quantify that?

“The focus should not be on us, like we are looking to sponge off the State. That could not be further from the truth and we are taxpayers too.”

Eileen urged anyone who can attend to travel to Dublin this Friday.

“We implore you to come to Dublin to support families who have found themselves in this horrendous situation.”

She added how many people who could not attend in June want to do so now.

“Please attend on Friday. Do not have regrets. This will be a peaceful protest. We will go to Dublin with our heads held high and urge them to do the right thing.”

Eileen told how she recently spoke to a teacher in a primary school in Inishowen, where 29 out of 30 children in a class were affected by mica.

“This is everywhere. We are also asking schools to maybe think about letting transition year students attend or if they know a student is affected by mica to let them off school. Please let families affected by this feel part of this movement.”

Paddy confirmed that a number of vehicles, emblazoned with posters calling for 100% redress for mica and pyrite affected families, will be travelling around Dublin City Centre all day Friday and anyone else who wants to join them will be made welcome.

A number of buses are travelling to Dublin from Inishowen and Letterkenny.

Everyone is encouraged to wear black and white, if possible and Paddy urged everyone to bring as many banners as possible. There are a number of major car parks near the city centre.

If you wish to book from Inishowen you are asked to contact Charlie Gibbons on 0868367744 or from Letterkenny 0873550083.

You will find updates on the arrangements for the demonstration on the Facebook page 100% Redress No Less.