Housing Agency ignored pyrrhotite evidence

Senior Housing Agency officials withheld evidence of damage to a Donegal home affected by the defective block crisis when consulting with an engineer who would recommend the homeowner's ultimate grant.

These officials discussed how to tell another chartered engineer they were disregarding test results detecting pyrrhotite – a mineral affected homeowners say is central to what’s popularly known as the mica crisis. Campaigners say government refuses to accept new scientific evidence regarding pyrrhotite.

In an email to the engineer, Housing Agency officials said they were "not in a position" to accept the revised findings, claiming they were not the "administrators" of the scheme. This meant pyrrhotite damage to the homeowner's property wasn’t considered when determining their level of compensation.

The homeowner received a lower level of redress than their independent engineer had recommended.

Evidence excluded

The homeowner applied to the defective concrete blocks grant scheme in September 2020. They say they received verbal approval from Donegal County Council for full demolition of their home in August 2021.

In February 2023 the council requested additional information from the homeowner's engineer, correspondence seen by The Ditch confirms.

The council asked for an updated engineer's report showing proof of concrete damage with evidence that pyrrhotite is causing the deterioration.

The homeowner also commissioned a geologist's report about pyrrhotite in the walls of their home and this report was incorporated into the engineer’s final findings.

This evidence gathered by the engineer strengthened the homeowner’s application under the grant scheme, they told The Ditch.

When the new grant scheme was activated their application was transferred from Donegal County Council to the Housing Agency in July 2023.

The homeowner’s engineer, Des McCarry of Carr & Co, tried to submit his final report the following month. In the report he recommended full demolition, the highest level of grant, saying, "Only an option one (full demolition) could be considered for my property due to the presence of oxidised pyrrhotite in my internal wall sample."

The report however wasn’t considered.

A Housing Agency spokesperson told The Ditch, “Under transitional arrangements for the defective concrete block grant scheme when a local authority refers a valid application, the Housing Agency is not aware if information is yet to be submitted to the local authority.”

But records show the Housing Agency was made aware of the updated report before issuing its recommendations – which advised for the homeowner to receive cheaper remedial works.

Emails released under freedom of information reveal Housing Agency officials Paul Lafferty and Peadar Espey drafting emails to tell McCarry they were not considering his final report.

In one exchange, Lafferty commends Espey's draft response, which said that the agency was "not in a position" to accept the revised findings.

In April 2024 an engineering firm tasked by the Housing Agency to assess applications to the scheme issued its report on the homeowner’s property.

Ultimately these engineers decided cheaper, less extensive remediation works.

In its recommendations these engineers didn’t mention the additional evidence on pyrrhotite submitted by the homeowner and their engineer.

A spokesperson for the Housing Agency said that only technical reports filed at validation stage (when a county council looks at them before passing on) are considered.

“Under the defective concrete block grant scheme a local authority refers valid applications to the Housing Agency,” the spokesperson said. “The Housing Agency takes into consideration the technical report referred by a local authority at validation stage”

The homeowner has since filed formal complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman and is currently in the process of appealing the Housing Agency's decision to grant a lower level of remediation than their engineer had recommended based on the pyrrhotite findings.