The Curse of Defective Concrete (Mica, Pyrrhotite, etc.) in Donegal homes - Read Mod warning Post 1

DrPhilG

James74 wrote: »

Cassidys to close to the public. Can't post the link properly, phone issues. Maybe somebody can do it again the right way. Sorry.

https://www.derryjournal.com/business/donegal-firm-cassidy-bros-to-close-to-public-next-week-3260025

Feckers all full of sympathy for their laid off staff, haven't heard much concern from them for all the people they screwed over.

DrPhilG

https://twitter.com/PaddyDiver4/status/1400342683038617602?s=19

https://www.facebook.com/groups/297785338568131/permalink/313144380365560/

malinheader

Brilliant Dr.Phil. Thanks.

jj880

What a great video. Its worse than I ever imagined. Yer mans drone nearly disappeared into that crack at the top of the leisure centre in Letterkenny.

NIMAN

Fair play to PD and the team associated with that video.

They are really upping their game. That's a serious video and it's no surprise Cassidys are running scared. Shame on them. They must have known back in the day their blocks weren't great, but sure profit is more important than people's homes.

Local councillors and td should be ashamed of themselves, and big questions have to be asked of senior DCC staff, allowing this to go on for so long and yet they continue to pay Cassidys good money for their material.

It's getting interesting.

Pity LiveLine did a 2nd day on fake face cream, instead of raising this issue. What is Joes problem with talking about it?

At least Claire Byrne Show is doing a piece next Tuesday.

malinheader

NIMAN wrote: »

Fair play to PD and the team associated with that video.

They are really upping their game. That's a serious video and it's no surprise Cassidys are running scared.

Local councillors and td should be ashamed of themselves, and big questions have to be asked of senior DCC staff, allowing this to go on for so long and yet they continue to pay Cassidys good money for their material.

It's getting interesting.

Pity LiveLine did a 2nd day on fake face cream, instead of raising this issue. What is Joes problem with talking about it?

At least Claire Byrne Show is doing a piece next Tuesday.

Imo. Joe's problem and rte's problem about this is going to be seen in the coming weeks and months . The corruption and disregard for regulation that has happened here for years surely warrants a serious inquiry.
Surely someone or some people in Donegal county council must of been well looked after.
Before this though the homeowners must be prioritised ad a matter of urgency.

Cee-Jay-Cee

So Cassidys are closing their doors to the public but obviously keeping their private contracts ie Donegal CiCo. If they had any shame at sllnn no they’d **** up shop completely.

babybuilder

Time to start looking into officials' bank accounts and their holiday destinations over the last 10 years. In the same way CAB chase down the drug barons (or are supposed to). Follow the money trail.

NIMAN

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

So Cassidys are closing their doors to the public but obviously keeping their private contracts ie Donegal CiCo. If they had any shame at sllnn no they’d **** up shop completely.

I'd say there is no business any more from the public, that's why they are closing that side of it.

I'd been saying all along the boycott Cassidys side of the campaign would sort itself out in the long run, but it happened faster than I thought it would.

They deserve nothing better. I feel sorry for the workers who will lose their jobs, but there is a bigger picture to be seen here. The company knowingly sold bad blocks to make easy profit, and didn't give a damn about the damage this was going to cause. The fact that they can do this and there is zero accountability in this country, says a lot. Are there other quarries in Ireland doing similar? Who knows when they have no regulation and are never checked?

It's one big ****storm, and it's great a light is being shone on it.

malinheader

NIMAN wrote: »

I'd say there is no business any more from the public, that's why they are closing that side of it.

I'd been saying all along the boycott Cassidys side of the campaign would sort itself out in the long run, but it happened faster than I thought it would.

They deserve nothing better. I feel sorry for the workers who will lose their jobs, but there is a bigger picture to be seen here. The company knowingly sold bad blocks to make easy profit, and didn't give a damn about the damage this was going to cause. The fact that they can do this and there is zero accountability in this country, says a lot. Are there other quarries in Ireland doing similar? Who knows when they have no regulation and are never checked?

It's one big ****storm, and it's great a light is being shone on it.

The light so far is a flashlight when what we need is a floodlight.
I have no doubt in my mind if this was certain other counties in Ireland this would be getting alot more publicity.
Rte has shown in all this what a biased and totally state ran station they are, no wonder people renege in paying a TV licence for this. Be interesting to see how highland approach this latest uncovering about the quarry.

muffler

Lately there have been a fair few posts containing allegations of bribery, corruption, brown envelopes etc. These are quite serious allegations and at best are highly speculative and at worse are libelous. Going forward it would be greatly appreciated if such comments could be left out of posts.

Its a great thread folks so keep the posts coming.

MrMusician18

DrPhilG wrote: »

https://twitter.com/PaddyDiver4/status/1400342683038617602?s=19

https://www.facebook.com/groups/297785338568131/permalink/313144380365560/

It's a very interesting video. That said, the MAG group risk confusing their message and demand for compensation with action on planning enforcement.

CastorTroy

I agree. And as at least 1 other person has pointed out, they need to prioritize. If they want 100% redress concentrate on that first then focus on what they're saying about Cassidys and the council. But going by that video they seem more focused on going after Cassidys than anything else. So if Cassidys is their priority then it works.

I was telling someone yesterday about them laying ones off and we were saying they're probably trying to turn the public against the protests with "See what you did? You cost people their jobs!"

jj880

Im not so sure. Letting people see the origins of this scandal and that there is no real regulation on all quarries in the country is a good move. Showing it includes public buildings will add to media coverage and bring in more people to the campaign who dont have mica in their homes (yet). It should scare the whole country and drive home the notion that if this let get completely out of hand now it will spread to all counties. Why not do both right now? Get peoples houses fixed and actually punish a quarry for destroying 1000s of private and public buildings? The sooner the better for everyone.

jj880

Penfailed wrote: »

The difference is, if you are only coring to determine if there is mica present, you only need one core tested. You don't have to get a chartered engineer to do an initial scoping exercise or pay for eight cores to be taken and tested and you also don't need a chartered engineer to compile an engineer's report. It's not comparing like for like. There's no gouging going on.

Well we're not going to agree on this. Its an obvious deterrent from the council to people entering the redress scheme.

It needs looked at. If you think the work you have described is worth 7k then it needs changed / streamlined. It doesn't matter whos paying for it we cant have the testing of houses for mica running into the 10s of millions. Its ridiculous.

malinheader

CastorTroy wrote: »

I agree. And as at least 1 other person has pointed out, they need to prioritize. If they want 100% redress concentrate on that first then focus on what they're saying about Cassidys and the council. But going by that video they seem more focused on going after Cassidys than anything else. So if Cassidys is their priority then it works.

I was telling someone yesterday about them laying ones off and we were saying they're probably trying to turn the public against the protests with "See what you did? You cost people their jobs!"

Ahh.but do you not see the bigger picture here. People are trying to show why their has been nothing done all these years, why the Government and public representatives sat back while people's houses crumbled round them..
Do you really think if what has happened and been highlighted in the last few weeks hadn't happened that anyone would be really bothered about fixing the problem.

MrMusician18

malinheader wrote: »

Ahh.but do you not see the bigger picture here. People are trying to show why their has been nothing done all these years, why the Government and public representatives sat back while people's houses crumbled round them..
Do you really think if what has happened and been highlighted in the last few weeks hadn't happened that anyone would be really bothered about fixing the problem.

Going off on tangential complaints regarding the planning law enforcement though is going to muddy the discussion on grant aid relief and will distract from their main goal of getting their houses fixed.

While noble that they are highlighting these other failings, I suspect that they will will end up distracting away from the primary concern - in fact you can start to see that happening as some quarters are painting the broader campaign now as worker harassment. If they want to get the government scheme improved they need to focus on that and that alone. Take up the other causes after that is resolved. Or have a parallel group.

Single issue is the best way to campaign, but it can often be hard to keep to a single issue.

listermint

jj880 wrote: »

Well we're not going to agree on this. Its an obvious deterrent from the council to people entering the redress scheme.

It needs looked at. If you think the work you have described is worth 7k then it needs changed / streamlined. It doesn't matter whos paying for it we cant have the testing of houses for mica running into the 10s of millions. Its ridiculous.

I think general cost for core drilling for example vents 110mm is around 50 to 100 euro per hole. I drilled 14 holes in mine for ventilation when refurbishing the house but I bought my own core drill second hand for 400 euro. Pain in the arse but worth to me for the price . Sold the drill then afterwards.


Assuming the samples for pirite testing are alot smaller cores than 110mm I'd imgaine 50 or 60 per hole is probably right. 8 holes brings you to 400 or 500 euro. Remedial works to patch the holes let's say another 500.

Wheres the other 6 grand going... Testing. 100 per sample ? That's 2 grand in now. Engineer report? 1000?

Wheres the other 4 grand gone..... 7 grand my eye.

malinheader

MrMusician18 wrote: »

Going off on tangential complaints regarding the planning law enforcement though is going to muddy the discussion on grant aid relief and will distract from their main goal of getting their houses fixed.

While noble that they are highlighting these other failings, I suspect that they will will end up distracting away from the primary concern - in fact you can start to see that happening as some quarters are painting the broader campaign now as worker harassment. If they want to get the government scheme improved they need to focus on that and that alone. Take up the other causes after that is resolved. Or have a parallel group.

Single issue is the best way to campaign, but it can often be hard to keep to a single issue.

You are %100 correct. But the point I'm trying to make without being liable or mentioning the c word is that people needed to understand why the company in question was able to carry on as if nothing happened still supplying the council which had hundreds of houses destroyed by said company and no public representatives or ministers were willing to call this company out. This needed to be highlighted to show people why their was no urgency in fixing the problem. Muffler has asked us to not mention certain things as not to destroy the thread but everyone one can make there own minds up what's happening here.

Penfailed

listermint wrote: »

I think general cost for core drilling for example vents 110mm is around 50 to 100 euro per hole. I drilled 14 holes in mine for ventilation when refurbishing the house but I bought my own core drill second hand for 400 euro. Pain in the arse but worth to me for the price . Sold the drill then afterwards.


Assuming the samples for pirite testing are alot smaller cores than 110mm I'd imgaine 50 or 60 per hole is probably right. 8 holes brings you to 400 or 500 euro. Remedial works to patch the holes let's say another 500.

Wheres the other 6 grand going... Testing. 100 per sample ? That's 2 grand in now. Engineer report? 1000?

Wheres the other 4 grand gone..... 7 grand my eye.

The cores are 110mm. Don't forget 23% of the total is VAT.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Given the potentially huge number of houses this will involve over the next number of years, I don’t see why the government don’t save millions by setting up their own testing facility (however don’t allow the OPW to get involved as it will run into billions due to their incompetence in everything they do) I think I read that the samples are sent to be tested in the UK, if that’s the case it’s utterly ridiculous and a test centre should be established here immediately.

RandomViewer

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Given the potentially huge number of houses this will involve over the next number of years, I don’t see why the government don’t save millions by setting up their own testing facility (however don’t allow the OPW to get involved as it will run into billions due to their incompetence in everything they do) I think I read that the samples are sent to be tested in the UK, if that’s the case it’s utterly ridiculous and a test centre should be established here immediately.

Send someone from the OPW down to get coffee, they'll likely buy a Colombian coffee plantation at double the asking price,

firemansam4

This story is still not getting the national media attention it should be.

Does anybody remember the news coverage surrounding Priory hall apartments in Dublin many years back? It rightfully got huge attention at the time.
But compare that to what is happening here now with this mica issue which is affecting a larger amount of people.

If this same mica issue happened in Dublin there would be massive media attention on it now.
I really hope for all involved that the planned protest in Dublin brings more attention to this, but I feel that only something like blocking up the M50 or something else that may cause disruption in Dublin may be the only thing to start getting proper coverage on this.

NIMAN

You're right of course, it isn't getting the attention it needs.

It is a massive issue, and it not only affects peoples homes, a lot of council social housing is caught up in this, as are public building like council offices, libraries, leisure centres etc. Agree that if this was happening in Dublin , Cork or Galway, it would have been headline news for a long time. It is likely to be, at minimum, a €1bn issue, and probably more. It could take a decade or more to put right.

But its no surprise that its being covered so badly. Its par for the course for issues that aren't in the big cities.

As for blocking the M50, well that might be counter-productive. You want the nation to hear about the issue and get behind you, but its a fine line between that and p1ssing people off, and having them get annoyed with "that bloody Mica crowd from Donegal" if you make them late getting home from work, or to pick up their kids, or block ambulances etc.

DrPhilG

Agreed. Saw someone in that Facebook group earlier suggesting blocking specific areas at specific times, like jamming the airport and making people miss flights.

Absolute stupidity.

jimmycrackcorm

firemansam4 wrote:

This story is still not getting the national media attention it should be.

Out of 5 TDs, three aren't FF or FG. My own opinion is that Donegal is viewed by the rest of the country as an outlier that votes against whatever everyone else votes in favour of.

There's also a view that people in Dublin suffering from the housing and rent crisis, aren't that sympathetic to those in Donegal complaining about having to pay ten percent towards the redress scheme for their five bedroom house on a half acre.

That's the perception.

salonfire

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Out of 5 TDs, three aren't FF or FG. My own opinion is that Donegal is viewed by the rest of the country as an outlier that votes against whatever everyone else votes in favour of.

There's also a view that people in Dublin suffering from the housing and rent crisis, aren't that sympathetic to those in Donegal complaining about having to pay ten percent towards the redress scheme for their five bedroom house on a half acre.

That's the perception.

What the mica protest might end up doing is encouraging young people in Dublin to organise and take to the streets in protest against rents and housing in Dublin, thus overtaking the voice of mica protests if it gathers momentum.

Donegal is already lost to Sinn Fein. The government would be trying to limit their losses in the capital due to the housing issues there.

Penfailed

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2021/06/04/thank-god-this-didnt-happen-to-dublin-homes-government-glad-mica-only-affecting-rural-communities/

jj880

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/mica-controversy-we-were-toldit-was-best-tosay-nothing-40506620.html

Former FG councillor turns whistle blower. It's all kicking off now.

Headline: Mica controversy: ‘We were told it was best to say nothing’

Penfailed

jj880 wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/mica-controversy-we-were-toldit-was-best-tosay-nothing-40506620.html

Former FG councillor turns whistle blower. It's all kicking off now.

Headline: Mica controversy: ‘We were told it was best to say nothing’

Behind a paywall unfortunately.