Mica: Thousands attend Mica redress protest march

Organised by the Mica Action Group, the demonstrators are marching from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House in the capital

Homeowners hit by the effect of mica in the Republic of Ireland have staged a large protest march in Dublin.

Thousands of Irish homes have crumbled because of mica, a mineral which absorbs water, causing walls to crack.

The Irish government has faced criticism for offering 90% of costs under the current redress scheme, leaving homeowners with significant bills to repair or rebuild their homes.

A report suggested a remediation scheme could cost more than €3.2bn (£2.72bn).

An estimated 5,700 homes in counties Donegal and Mayo are affected by defective bricks, with more understood to be in counties Sligo, Clare and Limerick.

Organised by the Mica Action Group, thousands of demonstrators marched from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House in Dublin on Friday.

A convoy of buses left from County Donegal on Friday morning, with many local businesses giving employees the day off to attend the demonstration.

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Michael Doherty, a spokesperson for the Mica Action Group, said upwards of 20,000 people had taken part in the Dublin protest.

"The response from the people today has been unbelievable," he said.

"The message to the Irish government is clear. They know where they stand, know that they are on notice, we are ready to topple them if they do not listen to us."

Campaigners are demanding the government fully compensate mica-affected home owners with a 100% redress scheme.

"It is now or never for the government," Mr Doherty said, "it is time they did the right thing."

Mica absorbs water which can lead to walls cracking

Irish Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue told the protest he was "really confident" of a positive outcome for homeowners and that he was committed to a 100% redress.

The Donegal Fianna Fail TD (member of parliament) said: "I'm confident that we will get a scheme that delivers for homeowners and also that we can get a scheme that delivers 100% of the costs for homeowners as well."

The figure of €3.2bn (£2.72bn) is contained in a draft report by an Irish government working group set up to consider how to provide redress for homeowners.

The working group report last week noted that the overall cost of the scheme was expected to rise from €1.4bn (£1.2bn) to the new figure of €3.2bn.

It stated this was on the basis of capital works and associated costs only.

Irish Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is to consider the working group's report and is due to bring a memo to cabinet in the coming weeks.

In 2016, an expert panel was set up to investigate problems with homes affected by blocks containing mica and another mineral, pyrite.

That followed years of campaigning and led, in 2019, to the Irish government approving a €20m (£17.2m) repair scheme to cover 90% of repair costs.

Many mica affected homeowners view that scheme as not fit for purpose, given it still requires homeowners to contribute 10% of the cost of repairs.

Those involved in Friday's protest are demanding 100% redress from the Irish government

Campaigners had hoped an Irish government redress scheme would be announced before the Republic's budget next week.

However, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney told the Dáil (lower house of Irish parliament) on Tuesday a compensation scheme would be presented to the government in several weeks.

He said the scheme would be one of the largest financial support packages ever announced in the Republic of Ireland.