State steered engineer reports used to downgrade mica scheme claims

The state has required engineers working on the mica scheme to submit draft reports and receive guidance from the Housing Agency before final reports are accepted. These reports have been crucial in affected homeowners being awarded grants they maintain are inadequate.  

Engineers Ireland members: state assessment of mica homes neither ‘fit for purpose’ nor scientific

Engineers say the state’s standard for assessing mica redress grants – which is being used to downgrade affected homeowners to cheaper options – isn’t appropriate and isn’t grounded in science. 

Limerick mayor getting €25,000 a month rental income, owns 23 properties

Limerick mayor John Moran gets more than €25,000 a month in rent from his transatlantic property portfolio.

Company paid almost €30 an hour per worker for state contract – workers paid minimum wage

An outsourcing company paid at least €210 million in state contracts since 2012 is charging the HSE almost €30 an hour per worker for a major contract – while these workers are paid the minimum wage, less than half that. 

Defence Forces promoted captain to commandant despite conviction

An army captain court-martialled for illegal smuggling has been promoted to the rank of commandant.

Comment: Sinn Féin has lost momentum because it doesn’t stand for anything

The state knows a threat when it sees one.

Council applied ‘DO NOT USE’ label to homeowner mica scheme evidence – grant decisions downgraded

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. 

Department didn’t know about quality checks on mica blocks – council had just sent 25 letters

Four years into the mica crisis the Department of Housing didn’t know what measures had been taken to ensure construction materials in affected counties were fit for use and compliant with EU regulations. 

Neither council nor cabinet minister knew who was responsible for mica quarry checks – EU now stepped in

A government minister and senior council officials didn’t know who was responsible for quality checks on construction materials at the centre of the mica crisis – an issue on which the European Commission has begun legal proceedings against Ireland. 

Senior officer claims ex-Policing Authority chair used garda relative to vet him

A senior garda claimed former Policing Authority chair Josephine Feehily used her ex-garda relative to secretly vet him for promotion.

Comment: The centre must fold

We used to call them counterrevolutionaries. Some would’ve called them petty bourgeois. Now we call them centrist dads. 

Woman sues ex-senior garda

A woman is suing the former head of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau in the High Court over an alleged incident that happened while he was a serving garda.