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

But lads it was 20-30k yesterday are we revising back down now ... Whatever the figures are there is compromise needed to get this over the line. And it won't be 100 percent redress for all with blank cheques.

I was in town when the protest was on and got talking to a few people, and one thing that I found was that each person had a different definition of what 100% redress meant - so can someone here tell me what this means? What exactly the group want the taxpayers to cover.

Also when the Mica group went into negotiations with the government - what could they possibly be negotiating as they have set their stall as 100% no less - so moving from that is misleading the people.

While I have sympathy and feel that home owners get some level of redress, unless it's clearly defined, i feel that they won't get the support from the general public and a go slow on the motorway is one way to turn the people against them. There was a man on newstalk who said his father missed his hip replacement operations that he'd been waiting 19 months for because of the delays on the motorway and he has no idea when he will get it again.

Your not one bit sorry, given the reply, it's BS to say it's the government fault that he missed his operation - why didn't the mica group give a warning the week before that the go slow on motorway was going to happen to warn people. What would have happened in there was a fatal accident because of the go slow, or if emergency services got caught up in it attending an emergency call? I have read the last few pages of this thread, and it is clear that many people feel that the go slow was out of order, and to think that the main driver of the protest was on social media bragging that he did it. If that was your father or relative that was in need to a hip operation - you wouldn't give a toss about the mica issue and how it affects people. What if a a family with kids were caught in a final crash because of it - would you say ah well it's the government fault - even though there is bragging on social media about it?

Instead of answering the question I put out - you just attacked the government, why is it so hard to find what exactly 100% redress means? Why did the mica group go into negotiations with the government, if their stance is 100% no less. negotiations by nature are give and take on both sides - yet over the last year of listening to this, the mica side has never once offered anything realistic. I've spend the last hour looking for a definition and none exists - is this because a large amount of people have different views?

Donegal people are knowing to travel in their tens of thousands for an All Ireland Final. If this issues affects as many people as those here make out, it shouldn't matter if someone has work, or if someone has school, they would have been in Dublin protesting on Friday. Schools, business etc would all understanding the plight. Is it a case that most are happy for a few to do the protesting for them? Some had pulled kids out of School and travelled down.

I have to be careful with words chosen as I see a mod has spoken out, but there is a huge difference from wanting the government to pay for your house to be rebuilt, and wanting the government to ensure you have safe roof over your head. Like I said I spoke to some on Friday, and at one point there was two couples in the conversation and I asked them a simple question - If the government offered to build you a house, that was solid and insurable, but did not meet the spec of your current house that was falling down in size etc, would they accept it - one couple said yes instantly because his family could sleep safely at night, the other said no because they want their dream home that they built from the start. For me and a lot of people that I've heard talk about the issue, that's where you won't get the support, and that's why there will be a cap put on any resolution put by the government.

And what then, if say 80% of those affected are happy with the proposal put forward, who has the final say as to what they accept and what they don't? Let's say your affected and your happy with the proposal, but a couple down the road aren't. Are you going to continue to protest until every single person gets what they want?

If you read the last few pages you will see that I indicated that questions being asked here were being asked in the wrong place. This isn't the reception area for the mica group. This thread and the people posting here are completely independent of the group so if you (or anyone else) are demanding answers then you're going to be disappointed.

Apologise, I may have missed your post, or else my post per page is less than others :)

There has to be some posters on here affected, so they would know what the meaning of 100% redress is (or they should know if they are attending protests), While there are multiple FB groups - these groups are just all similar minded people agreeing with each other and anyone that goes against the masses and says anything with an opposing view are shot down. I would have thought that this thread on boards would be used to discuss the issue and to understanding each others views - which requires questions?

We have a lad organising go slow on motorway and going round with weetabix packages, demanding the government provide a multi billion package which he cannot quantify himself and hence leads to people saying he's asking for a blank cheque. Maybe it's time to get some qualified experts in the group that can talk professional and calmly and put together documents and engaged with the government in a manner that will get answers. There are many successful business and wealthy individuals in Donegal that could bankroll paying experts/professionals. Otherwise the government are just going to come back with a proposal that is going to divide those protesting that some will accept and other won't and what then?

It only takes one idiot to destroy the message and work of thousands though - as the actions of those in the jeeps is what ended up all over the news, are the thousands who travelled down happy that this is what made the news? What happens if someone does it again at the next protest, or will someone in charge tell them to cop on that it's not helping matters? Perhaps it should be these experts fronting the group though and not someone with bully boy tactics, (i.e. the go slow).

Given that those that I spoke to all gave me different definitions of what they want from the 100% redress, it means that what you have is a collection of individuals who all have a common issue, mica, but who all want different solutions. I was told by one family, that they would be happy for their home just to be demolish and rebuilt and to know that it was solid/insurable and worth something and that they would then be happy to furnish themselves, another couple told me that they want government to build the house the way their originally built it and want all the same fitting etc, they also want the tax payers to cover to full cost of alternative accommodation. A third man said he would like to repair the property first and see how that stands up - and then if needed demolish and rebuilt - is the acceptable solution - should it be you have one option and that's that as oppose to coming back to the well so to speak?

Let's say the 100% redress comes through - how exactly is that going to work, are you going to hire your own builder at the cost of the builder? What if some builders double the price knowing that the state is picking up the tab - is that ok? What if you can't find anyone as they are too busy? If entire estates need to be demolished and rebuilt - how do you decided what house gets done first, where do the people in those estates live while their houses get rebuilt? Do houses have to meet todays standards and be A rated? What if someone want to change the design of their property? Are farm buildings and garages or workhouses for trades man included in the redress?

There is so so much more involved than just getting the government to commit to it. The logistics and the human resources are realistically probably not available and/or it will take so long for every house to be done, that there is a potentially that we could have a crash similar to 2008, and any funds set aside would be pulled - and then what? Maybe a cross party solution is required for something like this - where all parties agree to a plan so that future governments can't turn around and pull the funds.

Yet the term 100% redress is allowed. You nor or can quantity what that term even means which in turn opens up the call for an effective 'whatever it costs' to the Irish tax payer. If you want to play symantics with terminology that's fine. But it's a complete cop out to ban terms like you've suggested when '100 percent redress' is the byline for the campaign when there's absolutely no notion of what that really means .

Additionally id like if you don't add in the 'Mc' term when responding to me . I've never used the term I've never prescribed to the term here or anywhere else so don't lump that on me.

I've consistently been middle line with this subject matter with a common sense approach. But this battering ram approach will get people no where at all. It's an attack on discussion and it's daily.

I'm discussing the topic at hand. The term used for the topic at hand and how it relates to the figures the tax payer is on the hook for.

We are now at end days for this thing to be dealth with I'd expect interested parties to really have a better handle on what money is involed,on what methods will be used to come to a reasonable conclusion.

The personalisation of this to me and sending me back somewhere else is frankly odd. Can we get back to the specifics of the figures and functional solutions ? The name of the game currently appears to be to run ears that are listening out of town. Which I think is a particularly odd strategy...... Do you not agree?

There is a not so subtle difference between moderation and censorship, objecting to the term blank cheque when that is precisely what is being asked for is nothing more than an attempt at silencing an opposing opinion.

A discussion forum that prevents discussion by allowing a viewpoint that is disliked by a moderator as it is contrary to a specific agenda and / or personal opinion of that moderator and allows such comments to be muted / silenced is counter productive.

In order to achieve a fair and balanced view open discussion should be allowed, peoples opinions should not be "muffled" when they are legitimate.

I can't believe how someone would choose to post this particularly having read the last couple of posts.

DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD AGAIN.