Press Coverage
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Just a few of the press and media articles on the Defective Concrete Crisis in Donegal over the past
Years
2023
Thomas Pringle TD tells Tánaiste of homeowners taking own initiatives
Thomas Pringle TD tells Tánaiste homeoweners have been forced to take own initiative CLICK HERE to read more.
Donegal Daily – Redress Focus Groups Launch New Online Resource
Donegal Daily - Click here to read full article
Irish Sun: I thought this was my forever home but now I’m going to end up homeless in my 70s after cancer and mica hell
A CANCER-stricken granny in her 70s whose home is falling down because of mica took two jobs just so she could stand a chance of applying for the...
Irish Sun: LIVING IN LIMBO I’m moving my family into a caravan because our dream home is collapsing
MICA march organiser Paddy Diver and his family are preparing to move into a caravan from where they will watch the home he built crumble to the...
RTE: Serious flaws in Defective Block Scheme, Mica Action Group says
Campaigners for 100% redress for homeowners affected by defective blocks in Donegal say that the Enhanced Defective Blocks Scheme first announced in...
Irish Independent: ‘Am I going to be homeless?’ – Mica wounds deepen as crisis takes heavy toll on homes and health of residents
Mary O’Regan’s life has been turned upside down by the effects of mica, as her home in Co Donegal teeters on the edge of collapse. With each passing...
Irish Sun: Mica campaigners fear ‘tsunami of homelessness’ as families forced to leave defective homes have ‘nowhere to go’
MICA campaigners fear a “tsunami of homelessness” as accommodation problems strikes hard-hit families who’ve had to leave their defective homes....
Irish Times: Defective concrete blocks in Donegal ‘not caused by mica’, study claims
Defective concrete blocks in homes in Co Donegal are failing because of pyrrhotite and not mica, according to a study published in leading...
2022
Highland Radio: Teacher says no-one realises the effects of Mica crisis on students
A secondary school teacher says students are not accepting college places as they are concerned about the financial implications to their mica...
Donegal Daily: “It’s frustrating nobody has been prosecuted over Mica” says Tanaiste
It is “very frustrating” that nobody has been prosecuted for making defective building blocks, the Tánaiste has said. Leo Varadkar said the issue...
Donegal Daily: Couple in crumbling mica home shows Tánaiste that time is running out
An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar viewed the horrendous reality of a mica-affected home on Friday, where a couple’s living room ceiling is propped up by...
Donegal Live: Mica Action Group spell out their concerns to Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheál Martin met with Mica Action Group members at two separate events in Buncrana and Burt today. This follows protests during his...
2021
Irish Times: Who is responsible for Donegal’s crumbling homes? Nobody is putting their hands up
The Inishowen peninsula in Donegal is a place of extravagant beauty. But driving along the road from Letterkenny north into the peninsula, the signs...
Irish Sun: Heartbroken family tell of Mica nightmare as cracks result in rain getting inside house
A DEVASTATED mum and dad whose home is set to be demolished due to the severity of Mica damage have told how their six-year-old child keeps asking...
Irish Mirror: Ireland’s mica scandal causing ‘mental health tsunami’ as homes crumble in front of families’ eyes
A mental health tsunami is brewing among the thousands of affected people in mica-ridden houses, it has been claimed. Paddy Diver, who spearheaded...
Donegal Daily: Taoiseach meets Mica Representatives and affected family on Donegal visit
Taoiseach Michael Martin was in Donegal this afternoon in response to the Mica crisis. During a visit to the county, Martin met with two...
The Journal: Families to stage protest over ‘farcical’ State scheme to fix their crumbling homes
FAMILIES AFFECTED BY the use of concrete blocks with mica in their Donegal homes have criticised the State scheme set up to help them, labelling it...
Derry Journal: Mica campaigners speak of groundswell of support
Paddy Diver had earlier posted a video to his Facebook page, showing the devastating impact of mica on his family home. He also called for a boycott...
2020
Donegal Live: Upfront testing costs not deterring Mica Redress Scheme Applications
Although fewer than 100 people in Donegal have made applications to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien...
Donegal Woman: Mica Campaigners Celebrate Victory after Eight Year Battle
Two of Donegal's relentless MICA Action campaigners marked a day of redemption this week after finally securing a redress scheme for local...
Donegal Daily: “We questioned if we would ever see this day” – Mica Homeowners
The Mica Action Group (MAG) has welcomed the redress scheme for homeowners affected by defective blocks used in the construction of their homes has...
2019
RTE: Homeowners disappointed at Mica redress scheme delay
Homeowners promised a multi-million euro redress scheme to fix defective building blocks say they are "disappointed" the scheme remains closed a...
Donegal Daily: Mica Action Group Represented on International Stage at US Conference
Members of the Mica Action Group (MAG) brought the issue to an international stage yesterday (Sat) as they spoke at US conference. Ann Owens and...
Irish Mirror: Winter storms bring more misery to Irish families in defective MICA brick homes
Families living with the horror of crumbling homes built with defective blocks say they have been hit hard by Storm Erik. Householder say they have...
2018
Inishowen News: MAG meet Fianna Fáil leader in Dublin
MICA Action Group (MAG) committee members, Micheal Doherty and Eamonn Jackson, travelled yesterday to Leinster House in Dublin to have a face to...
Donegal Daily: Mica Action Group Heartened by Taoiseach’s Comments on Redress Scheme
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has made some significant comments regarding redress after seeing a crumbling Mica-affected home in Inishowen today. Members...
Young Irish mum tells how she is losing her mind as dream home crumbles around her after being built with Mica-contaminated blocks in Donegal
A young mum has told how she is losing her mind as her dream family home crumbles around her after being built with blocks contaminated with Mica....
Belfast News: Call for action as thousands of Irish homes facing collapse
A devastating crisis has struck at the heart of Co Donegal which is wreaking havoc in homes, tearing lives, families and communities apart – and...
2017
Inishowen News: Inishowen Mica homes ‘not safe to live in’
HUNDREDS of families affected by the defective blocks issue in Donegal have been given hope this Christmas with a Government commitment that a...
Derry Journal: My house is crumbling, I can’t sit and wait!
The Mica Action Group (MAG) told the 300-strong crowd at An Grianan Hotel on Wedneday that they are “not going away” and will continue to push for a...
Donegal News: Mica Action Group praised as key report is published
DONEGAL TD Joe McHugh has welcomed the publication today of the expert panel’s report on Mica-affected homes in Donegal and Mayo and says he wants...
Irish Independent: The blocks in my home were crumbling like Weetabix
Hundreds of homeowners in Donegal are still waiting anxiously for a resolution after discovering that their houses are built with defective concrete...
Inishowen News: Mica group says investigation completed
THE Mica Action Group (MAG) confirmed today that the investigation into the issue of defective blocks in counties Donegal and Mayo has been...
2016
Inishowen News: Mica Action Group to meet expert panel
CAMPAIGNERS seeking redress for "cracking and crumbling" homes have spoken to the minister in charge of housing ahead of the group's first meeting...
Inishowen News: Huge rise in calls after RTE airs ‘Bad Blocks’
A Prime Time investigation into "crumbling" houses in Donegal has led to a "huge increase" in the number of homeowners coming forward with fears...
Inishowen News: Prime Time investigates ‘crumbling’ Donegal homes
A Prime Time investigation into allegations that homes were built with defective blocks across Co Donegal including Inishowen will air tomorrow...
Irish Times: Experts to run rule over crumbling concrete blocks in new homes
A former senior local government official has been asked to head a panel of experts looking into why concrete blocks used in buildings in Co Donegal...
2015
Inishowen News: Owners of ‘crumbling’ homes urged to register
MICA Action Group (MAG) has welcomed the announcement that an expert group will be set up shortly to investigate problems that have emerged in the...
“Heartbreaking” burden for Inishowen families
INISHOWEN councillor Albert Doherty has told a local meeting of Donegal County Council that families whose homes were built with defective blocks...
2014
Irish Examiner: Faulty blocks may affect up to 2,000 homes
More than 350 people attended the meeting of the MICA Action Group, which heard it would only be a matter of time before a house collapses. The...
Highland Radio: Meeting told as many as 2,000 homes could be affected by defective breeze blocks
A crowd of up to 350 people attended a public meeting in An Grianan Hotel Burt last night and were told that up to 2,000 properties in north Donegal...
More than 2,000 Donegal Homes could be affected by Defective “Weetabix” Blocks
One building block supplier has been responsible for cracks appearing in 97% of crumbling homes across Donegal, an angry meeting was told last...
Huge meeting to hear how Defective Blocks have wrecked Homeowners Lives
A large crowd is expected at a meeting arranged for tonight to discuss the cracking and crumbling of homes across Donegal as a result of defective...
Bregs Blog: Dáil questions: Mica in Donegal
In the following Dáil exchange the ongoing plight of home-owners affected by Mica in Co. Donegal is put to the new Minister for the Environment,...
2013
Newstalk: Donegal Homes Crumbling by Emma Cawley
Everyone’s aware of pyrite and the misery and stress it’s caused, now Donegal could be facing a similar problem. At this stage – everyone’s aware of...