Sir, – Donegal TD Joe McHugh is demanding 100 per cent redress for mica-affected homeowners, and says that a failure to allow 100 per cent compensation in the previous scheme, along with a failure to include accommodation and storage costs, was "nit-picking" ("Joe McHugh could quit Fine Gael if mica redress fails to satisfy homeowners," November 10th).
Instead of trying to bring some realism to the open-ended demands of the mica campaign leaders, Mr McHugh and other west of Ireland TDs seem hell-bent on burdening the wider taxpaying public with a blank-cheque commitment, running to many billions.
In recent weeks we have seen one of the leaders of the mica redress campaigners reject out of hand a proposal that would cap compensation at €350,000 per householder, stating that this would exclude 40 per cent of affected homeowners!
Meanwhile, civil servants in the Department of Housing have warned, that based on the demands of the campaigners, the cost of the scheme would rocket by €1.8 billion to €3.2 billion, while adding that this projection excluded some other compensation items being sought.
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This is the “nit-picking” that Mr McHugh is deploring. What an appalling stance by a national politician and a former Cabinet minister. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN O’BYRNES,
Donnybrook, Dublin 4