Business State to amend concrete levy to exclude precast after industry backlash Department of Finance had signalled that precast would be subject to 5 per cent levy but has completed a U-turn after concerns it would advantage Northern Irish firms
business Northern firm seeks to gain from concrete levy by luring Irish firmsTobermore wrote to clients in Republic to advise them which precast products will not be subject to 5 per cent tax introduced to fund mica redress scheme
Housing Mica engineers can’t get insurance cover for work on €3bn redress schemeEngineers warn of reluctance to assess damaged houses because insurers won’t offer professional indemnity when mica or pyrite are involved
Construction Concrete levy will stop major infrastructure projects, say developers One concrete manufacturer described tariff, designed to recoup some of the costs of €3 billion mica redress scheme from the building industry, as a ‘nightmare’ scenario
Housing €3bn mica scheme delayed as Donegal council raises concernsLocal authority has warned government it will struggle to oversee aspects of programme aimed at helping rebuild thousands of houses around the country
Mica ‘It beggars belief a wee bit’: denied bank loans, mica families left in the lurchWith bills mounting up and little access to credit from banks, homeowners say they are unable to fund the cost of rebuilding their destroyed houses
Construction Junior housing minister to meet with state building watchdog following Business Post report It comes as Sinn Féin called the Minister for Housing, to respond to ‘chronic understaffing’ in NBCO
BP Exclusive ‘National emergency’: emails reveal building watchdog’s pleas for supportRegulator staff are forced to work outside normal hours, cancel annual leave and rely on interns to plug gaps despite appeals for extra resources
Housing Darragh O’Brien urges banks to help Mica homeowners avoid mortgage defaults Housing Minister asks industry bodies for ‘fair and consistent approach’ after government warned demolition of damaged houses could trigger full mortgage repayment clause
Housing Donegal County Council nearly cut involvement with €3bn mica scheme due to attacks on staffAuthority has issued a series of stark warnings about proposed regulations which will underpin a new version of the scheme to help thousands of homeowners impacted by defective blocks
Housing Construction inflation to carry mica redress costs over €3bnNew estimates from an expert group show a rise of up to 15% in the cost of rebuilding houses damaged by mica, pyrite and other materials
Energy Mica homeowners unable to claim energy grants after red tape rowProperty owners trying to bring their houses up to modern standards have been locked out of the state’s retrofit scheme
Housing Donegal council refused to engage in talks on €3bn mica scheme over confidentiality termLocal authority has refused to participate in a review of the rules underpinning the scheme because senior executives were told not to share the document with elected councillors
Housing Campaigners say 100% Celtic Tiger redress shows ‘discrimination’ against mica homeownersMica Action Group says €2.5 billion scheme for up to 100,000 apartments is more comprehensive than scheme for those in Donegal, Mayo and elsewhere
Construction State to pay up to €2.5bn as 100% redress approved for Celtic Tiger era defective buildingsIt is estimated as many as 100,000 apartments and duplexes are affected by problems such as serious fire safety issues
Housing Building watchdog criticises regulatory ‘opt out’ for mica rebuilds using state grantsState agency in charge of building regulation criticises exemption to construction rules that may allow some homeowners to rebuild their houses without having to properly adhere to building regulations
Year in Review Mica: After a year of ‘stagnation and paralysis’, should homeowners expect more of the same this year?Homeowners, frustrated by delays and roadblocks to the scheme to fix their houses, will be hoping for more movement in the next 12 months
Morning Headlines New wind farm to create 50,000 jobs in Clare; EPA to move faster as data centres seek diesel licencesThe stories you need to read this morning in business, politics and current affairs
Housing ‘Nobody begrudges them this victory’ – how the state changed tack on Donegal’s worst mica homesAfter weeks of calls from homeowners and councillors, the Department of Housing last week finally intervened to help the mica families worst hit by defective blocks. Here’s how it happened
Housing State removed criticism over quarries’ part in mica scandal Criticisms of Donegal quarries and poor regulation of sector in draft report were taken out before official version published
