A POLITICAL PARTY which is campaigning for 100% redress for homeowners affected by defective building materials is running six candidates in tomorrow’s local elections in Donegal. 

The 100% Redress Party, which was formed last year, said it wants to secure “a genuine 100% redress scheme for all those affected by defective concrete products”. 

The mica scandal first made headlines in 2021 when homeowners saw concrete blocks used to build their homes and were beginning to crumble.

The government introduced a scheme in November 2021 to support affected homeowners to remediate their dwelling and this scheme was enhanced last summer.

The Enhanced Defective Blocks Scheme allows affected homeowners in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick, and Mayo to apply for a maximum grant of €420,000. Sligo is also set to be added to the scheme. 

The party is calling for all residential, commercial and agricultural properties to be included in the scheme, along with rental properties and buildings owned by community-based organisations.

It is also calling for the grant rate to reflect the cost of rebuilding in accordance with modern building regulations, and for there to be no upper limit on the total amount of the grant for homeowners.

One of the party’s six candidates, Ali Farren, will run in the Carndonagh electoral area. Speaking to The Journal, the tourism business owner said the party was formed because the candidates felt “there was nobody being a real, true voice for us”.

“We believe in the democratic way. If we’re successful, we will have a voice at a council table, and we will consider running candidates – provided we get a good enough vote – for the Dáil elections,” he said. 

The party’s chairman Tomas Devine is a small business owner who has lived in Letterkenny for the last 20 years. He will run for a seat in the electoral area. 

Joy Beard, who co-founded the party, will stand in the Buncrana electoral area. Beard moved to Limavady in 2007 and has been actively campaigning on the defective concrete issue for a number of years. 

Éamonn Jackson, the former chair of the Mica Action Group, will contest the Milford local electoral area, while healthcare worker Charles Ward will run for a seat in the Lifford-Stranorlar area. 

Last month, the party announced that it was running a sixth candidate. Denis McGee, who is self-employed, will stand in the Glenties area. 

Farren told The Journal that all of the candidates, including him, live in homes that are affected by defective concrete blocks. 

Farren said that every part of the redress scheme is “designed to be difficult”. 

“It’s not a scheme that everybody can get on. You need a lot of money upfront to even get started on the scheme. Even to move out of your house, people have to find other accommodation, and there is no accommodation in this area at the moment.”

He also pointed to the fact that it is not just private homes that have been affected by defective blocks.

“There’s farmers with affected farm sheds, lots of businesses around have invested money in property, whether it be a bed and breakfast, a shop or a garage.”

A map with a list of all of the local election candidates who are running in Donegal can be found here.

The local and European elections will take place this Friday, 7 June.