Donegal County Council applied the label "DO NOT USE UNDER ENHANCED SCHEME" to vital evidence in applications to the state mica scheme – with affected homeowners subsequently having their applications downgraded to cheaper grant options.
Multiple homeowners have provided The Ditch with evidence showing this label attached to their documents on the council's official portal. These labels disappeared days after homeowners questioned their presence – while these applicants remain left with less costly remediation decisions.
Donegal County Council claimed the labels, applied to reports from engineers about the presence of pyrrhotite in homes, had been placed on the files due to a "training error".
Last month The Ditch reported that attorney general Paul Gallagher advised government in September on measures to reduce the number of applicants to the mica scheme and limit the state's financial exposure. Gallagher wrote, “In Donegal… it is hoped that rebuilding would be the exception and that the other remedial options would more likely to be applicable.”
‘DO NOT USE UNDER ENHANCED SCHEME’
One affected homeowner applied for remediation on 17 September, 2020. After conducting core sample testing and submitting an engineer's report, they received verbal approval from Donegal County Council for demolition and a rebuild in August 2021.
Written confirmation never arrived, despite multiple enquiries, they say.
In November 2022 the homeowner learnt there may be pyrrhotite in their home, with later testing confirming high levels of the mineral. The council requested additional documentation in February 2023, including photos of deterioration and plans for adjacent council houses.
In July 2023 the Housing Agency told the homeowner it had received a file but claimed her engineers hadn't submitted an updated report. The homeowner uploaded their additional tests and informed officials.
Shortly afterwards these documents were labelled "DO NOT USE UNDER ENHANCED SCHEME" on the council's portal.
The following day, after the homeowner asked why this label had been used, Donegal County Council's defective concrete blocks office told them it was because of a "training error" and removed it shortly afterwards.
Though the council assured the homeowner the additional evidence had been sent to the Housing Agency, the homeowner says it was not included in the appendix of its final report.
Their remediation options were subsequently downgraded based on old photos and a desktop study without a recent engineer visit.
‘Training error’ occurred multiple times
Another homeowner found that their engineer's updated report, which identified pyrrhotite as the root cause of the damage, had also been marked with a "DO NOT USE UNDER ENHANCED SCHEME" label on the council's portal.
Engineers Jennings and O'Donovan included this document as the last appendix in their Housing Agency report but it was not referenced in the decision.
A third homeowner found that their revised report with updated evidence had the same label.
Both the Ministerial Guidelines for the mica scheme and the IS465 standard list pyrrhotite among the defective materials eligible for remediation.
Attorney General Paul Gallagher advised government that the mica scheme would "lead to significant abuses", with homeowners, in his opinion, likely pressuring engineers to recommend unnecessary full demolition and rebuilds.
"There is the added complication that many of the engineers, engaged by the homeowners, preparing reports for submission to the local authorities may not have the required degree of expertise to confidently recommend anything less than full demolition and rebuild," he wrote.
"Furthermore, these engineers are likely to be pressurised by their clients to submit claims on that basis and it would be difficult for them to resist doing so," he wrote.
The Ditch has contacted Donegal County Council to ask what staff training exercise involves handling sensitive material related to a government remediation scheme.
A Department of Housing spokesperson said, “The department is not aware of the issues raised.”
The Housing Agency declined to comment.
