The cost of living crisis is one we all face. For mica homeowners, they face another which has cost lives.
Mica homeowners, taxpayers all, did things the right way. They saved, they bought and they lived. Until the cracks appeared.
First of all - what is mica?
Micas are minerals that are found in concrete blocks used for building - safe levels of which are thought to be around 1% of the blocks.
In Donegal and elsewhere, the blocks used are around 17% meaning they attract moisture and can crumble.
The Department of Housing said in 2013 that blocks used in Ireland were overseen by 'standards covering most construction products including aggregates, and blocks' before clarifying that the primary need for oversight was with the manufacturer.
The Construction Industry Federation offers insurance to home-builders but it is unclear how many builders had this insurance, meaning individuals in homes are left to deal with the fallout.
Paddy Diver’s story is the first of three from Donegal, overwhelmingly affected by defective blocks. A mica campaigner, Paddy is often the face of strength for families who have lost the will to fight. He, too, has struggled to the point of collapse.
“Mica has nearly destroyed my life. The mental health side of stuff is just crazy," he said. "I tried to block it out for a long time until I couldn’t anymore. All I ever wanted to do was own my own home and have a secure house for my family. I have two houses and they’re destroyed with mica.
“The government has turned its back on the people. It feels like they have turned it into ‘them against us’ and it shouldn’t be like that. It’s their fault. They were given all the warning signs in 2017, even Leo Varadkar was given all the paperwork. They continued to spend money on public buildings and let the manufacturers keep supplying until it got to a colossal amount of money, then they came out and tried to turn the public against each other.”
Diver says the government’s communication on the mica redress bill - a ‘trojan horse’, according to campaigners - is to show the problem has been solved. According to Diver, this is not the case, as he paints a picture of the human cost.
“The problem I have is that if they had listened to us at the start then it wouldn’t have come to this. We wouldn’t be stuck with this bill and more and more people wouldn’t be tortured with it.
“My daughter won’t sleep in her own room because she doesn’t feel safe. [The government] keeps turning out big spiels saying ‘It’s OK - they are getting €420,000’. We’re not, that’s only a small minority of people, the mansions they try to portray. Average-size houses will not be getting €420,000.
“What about pensioners? In the last rollout of their life, they should be looking after their gardens. I know people who have been mentally broken; they’ve had breakdowns. They can’t work anymore. They can’t even do their garden work.
Diver believes the human cost is lost in economic arguments.
“This is one of the biggest crises to have hit Ireland. There have been suicides - I have thought about it myself. My family is destroyed with it - three of my sisters have it, two brothers have it. My mother has passed away now and I’m glad that she hasn’t seen this because she would have been heartbroken to think that her children, who owned their own house, now have to toss them all down. It is soul-destroying.”
The government’s approach leaves a bitter taste to campaigners. Diver said: “Through all the situations in Ireland, through the Mothers & Babies, through Stardust - they never do right by the people. Especially this government.
“It really is time for change, there are no two ways about it. Any government [should] do right by the people. All we’ve seen is delays - they did not help at all. The homeowners did most of the work here, never forget it.
“They tried to turn the public against homeowners. Anybody who has got a soul or any kind of morals - you wouldn’t wish this on your worst enemy.
“Then they try and turn it into ‘taxpayers’ but the biggest problem is that it could still be happening today. It’s starting to come around the west coast - Mayo, Tipperary and Sligo are in it. They reckon there could be another 14 counties in it.”
Diver believes that if it happened in Dublin that there would be the 100% redress that campaigners need, while the lack of a roll-out plan leaves families mentally exhausted.
“People don’t want to be campaigning for the sake of campaigning. People are tired, they just want their lives back to normal. We need the government’s help to get them back to normal.
“If it’s time for change, and if Sinn Fein get in [...] they have said they will look after ordinary people and stop this from happening in the future. If the government changes in two years. they will have to stand up to their word.
“If they do not, there will be another massive campaign. It will never stop. There will be more counties involved. They have to get it right.”
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar's most recent comments on Mica suggest the need for industry to help out with the costs of the existing scheme.
Mr Varadkar said: “It’s going to cost hundreds of millions, if not billions of euros, to repair the homes affected by mica and we need to do that for those 7,000 or 8,000 families affected.
“We’re also going to need to do something to help people who live in apartments that are defective too.
“There is no quarry or two quarries that are going to come up with that kind of money, so we need to find a way to recoup some of the cost.
“It’s not fair that the taxpayer should cover all of the cost. And we believe that the cost should fall at least in part on the industry.”
In the meantime, families like Paddy's are left in limbo.
