Taoiseach says it would be ‘extraordinarily disappointing’ if bogus mica claims exist

Taoiseach Simon Harris said it would be ‘extraordinarily disappointing’ if people claiming funding for the mica redress scheme were not involved in ‘honest engagement’.

His remarks come after the Irish Daily Mail reported that an independent councillor who claimed that his home was ‘riddled with mica’ and joined a legal class action on the issue has placed his house on the market.

Declan Meehan said he recently learned his home does not contain any defective materials.

Government sources had told the Mail that this case reinforces the need for independent assessors of any claimed defective properties around the country.

Under the terms of the current redress scheme, worth €2.4billion, an independent engineer in conjunction with the Housing Agency must inspect the property and recommend the level of works to be completed on the property.

When asked by the Mail if houses should be formally tested before homeowners could receive compensation under the scheme, Mr Harris said: ‘All of this is based on honest engagement. If there is a situation where that hasn’t happened, that’s extraordinarily disappointing to put it mildly.

‘What I don’t want though, are good, decent people who have been through the most horrific situation to be subjected to a ridiculous level of bureaucracy in trying to protect their home.

‘So, it’s a balance.’

There is no suggestion that Mr Meehan has not honestly engaged with the mica redress scheme, and he has stressed that he will still be working on this issue to benefit his constituents.

On Tuesday, The Ditch website published private correspondence from Attorney General Paul Gallagher to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien. Mr Gallagher advised that applicants should only be able to avail of ‘the least costly option’ and that terms like ‘redress’ and ‘compensation’ should be avoided.

He also indicated that he feared if the scheme became more generous, it risked encouraging more people to apply.

Responding to the article, Mr Harris said: ‘Attorney generals give advice. They give advice on the legal realities. They give advice on the different impacts of different decisions they may have. Politicians decide.

‘Sometimes when somebody reads legal advice or AG advice, regardless of the AG, it can read coldly. It’s up to politicians then to make the decisions.’

Additional reporting by Bill Breathnach