Sinn Féin calls for bank levy to continue to partly pay Mica homeowners

Sinn Féin has called for the bank levy – which is due to expire at the end of this year – to be continued to partly pay homeowners in Donegal and Mayo whose houses have been damaged by Mica.

The party’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said on Sunday that the Government should offer 100 per cent compensation including to all families who must rebuild their own homes.

Asked on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics about the estimated €3.4 billion bill, Mr Doherty argued the Government should do the affected homeowners “right” in the way they had with families whose homes had been affected by pyrite.

The banking levy has been in place since 2014 and raised €150 million in revenue for the State each year. The scheme is due to expire this year but Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has already signalled it will continue in existence, but with a lower take than in previous years.

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Speaking on the same programme, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Martin said: “If anyone thinks not investing in enforcement of standards costs you money you should look at this.”

She said the State required a system of proper enforcement to ensure standards were being met.

Speaking separately on Sunday, Minister for Agriculture and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue became the first Government Minister to say openly that homeowners should get 100 per cent compensation for demolitions and rebuilding.

Asked about the potential costs, Mr McConalogue told RTÉ’s This Week: “The report has outlined it could be potentially between €1.8 billion and €3.4 billion. I have been very clear and had a full understanding of the scale of this. From 2013, when the issue first emerged in Donegal, I have been campaigning on behalf of families to have the support that they need.

“It is going to be expensive, there are no two ways about it. There is a reality here that homeowners do need the support to have their homes fully fixed.”

Report

Saying he supported 100 per cent compensation, he said: “I am working with my Cabinet colleagues over the next period of time for a scheme that will reflect that and will support homeowners to get their lives back on track.”

He said that 1,500 homeowners had come forward in Donegal but he believed there were many more than that in the county.

“There is not a family north of the county that is not affected by this.”

The report of the Government’s Mica working group, which was published at the weekend, did not recommend 100 per cent redress for demolition and rebuilding, but did conclude full compensation could be justified for remediation work not involving full reconstruction.

Homeowner representatives would not sign off on the report as it fell short of their demands. The group was set up by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to see if improvements could be made to the previous scheme which offered up to 90 per cent compensation, but which was capped at €250,000.