Defective Concrete Schemes Created To Protect Banks 🏠 Never To Help Home Owners

Enda Craig ✊ The Irish Government’s introduction of grant schemes for homeowners affected by defective concrete was primarily aimed at preventing a potential financial crisis.

This defective concrete, containing high levels of the reactive iron sulphide minerals, caused walls to crack and crumble, leaving thousands of homes in dire straits. However, a closer examination reveals that the true beneficiaries of these schemes were not the homeowners but the financial institutions.

Here’s what transpired:

Initial Legal Challenges

When legal action against the suppliers of the defective concrete proved unsuccessful, homeowners turned to their political representatives for help. The issue was raised in the Dáil multiple times, with politicians acknowledging the problem. Many homeowners faced a grim choice: continue paying substantial mortgages for homes that were slowly deteriorating or take drastic measures like returning their house keys and stopping repayments.

Government Grant Schemes

The government introduced grant schemes, stating at the time, they meant to rebuild or repair affected homes. These schemes provided a glimmer of hope for homeowners, convincing them to continue mortgage payments. The underlying strategy was to prevent a mass wave of defaults, which would have severely impacted banks and building societies. In essence, the government’s staunch defense of the schemes suggests that their primary goal was to protect the banks rather than the homeowners

Anti-Homeowner Reality

However, when affected homeowners attempted to use the schemes, they discovered their anti-homeowner nature. Only those with substantial additional funding could cover the shortfall between the grant and actual rebuild costs. Consequently, only a small number of houses were fixed, creating the illusion of viability while minimizing the government’s expenditure. This intentional propaganda misled the wider public into believing that most homeowners were receiving genuine assistance. This was blatantly untrue and is still going on from government, media and politicians to this day.

Dire Situation

Before the schemes, many homeowners received no support from banks, mortgage companies, or the government. Faced with rapidly deteriorating and failing properties, some returned their keys to the bank and others stopped mortgage repayments, leaving financial institutions with non-performing loans.

True Objective

The government and senior civil servants recognised this could only be the beginning and needed to act quickly. The primary objective was to prevent a financial crisis triggered by mass loan defaults. The potential billions in unrecovered loans would have had severe repercussions. This clearly shows the grant schemes were introduced to give homeowners hope which would ensure continued loan payments. However, the reality was different: the grants were designed to safeguard financial institutions’ bottom lines.

In summary, while presented as benevolence, these schemes primarily served the interests of banks and building societies. The plight of homeowners took a backseat, leaving many still struggling with crumbling homes and inadequate support.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.