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Showing posts with label Enda Craig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enda Craig. Show all posts
Enda Craig ⬟ In older combined sewer systems, stormwater and domestic, commercial, and industrial wastewater are carried through the same pipes. 

Under normal conditions, wastewater treatment plants can process these flows provided the combined volume remains within the plant's treatment capacity.

Many treatment plants connected to combined sewer systems are equipped with retention basins designed to temporarily store excess rainfall. Once the rain subsides, the stored water is gradually released for treatment.

However, during prolonged or intense rainfall events, or periods of rapid snowmelt, these systems can quickly become overwhelmed. When both treatment plant capacity and retention basin storage are exceeded, overflow structures discharge a mixture of untreated sewage and stormwater directly into nearby rivers, estuaries, lakes, or coastal waters.

The environmental and public health consequences can be severe. Sewage-contaminated waters may contain harmful bacteria, viruses, and other pollutants, affecting water quality, marine ecosystems, bathing waters, and beach sand. Such contamination can render recreational waters unsafe for public use.

In a recent video, a respected Professor of Microbiology expressed serious concerns that beaches affected by sewage contamination may not always be tested before being declared safe for continued public use. If accurate, this raises significant questions about public health protection and whether beach users could unknowingly be exposed to contaminated water and sand.

Modern sewer infrastructure avoids many of these problems by separating wastewater and stormwater into different pipe networks. Wastewater from homes and industries is directed to treatment plants, while surface water runoff is conveyed separately to rivers, lakes, or the sea. By preventing large volumes of rainfall from entering treatment systems, separate sewer networks significantly reduce the risk of sewage overflows during extreme weather events.

Key Point: Combined sewer overflows are not treatment failures caused by negligence; they are a predictable consequence of ageing infrastructure that lacks the capacity to handle increasingly intense rainfall events. The result is that untreated sewage can be discharged directly into the environment precisely when water quality is already under pressure.

Lady's Bay Waste Water Treatment Plant in Buncrana is a perfect example of this fundamental underlying design fault which has destroyed the town's most important asset.

This important issue should be front and centre for discussion of any proposal to locate a WWTP inside the environs of Lough Foyle when Irish Water and Donegal Co Cl return to Moville in the near future.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

How Outdated Sewer Systems Cope With Heavy Rainfall

Enda Craig ⬟ The shameful truth of the Donegal Defective Concrete Scandal has been smothered beneath carefully curated figures pumped out by Donegal County Council and the Government’s Housing Agency. 

The official narrative is neat, sanitised, and utterly disconnected from the lived reality of thousands of families whose homes are still crumbling.

Most victims have now given up hope of ever receiving genuine 100% Redress. They are simply trying to rebuild or patch their homes before the relentless progression of structural failure destroys their lives beyond recovery. This is not “support” — it is abandonment.

Every attempt by community groups, campaigners, and affected homeowners has barely dented a Government machine fixated on minimising the cost to the Exchequer. The so‑called “grant” is a partial subsidy that only the well‑heeled can top up. Everyone else is stranded in no man’s land, left without the means to rebuild, repair, or recover.

The Core Failure Has Never Been Investigated

Until there is a Public Inquiry into the deliberate misattribution of the cause to “MICA”, and a Judicial Review challenging the legality and validity of IS 465, nothing will change.

The system will continue protecting itself.

The victims will continue paying the price.

A Two‑Tier Scheme By Design

A small minority with access to substantial private funds will continue to navigate the Enhanced Grant Scheme successfully.

The majority — ordinary families, pensioners, single‑income households — will remain trapped in distress, unable to bridge the financial gap the State refuses to close.

This is not an accident.

It is a policy choice.

The Final Verdict Will Be Damning

In time, the Donegal Defective Concrete Scandal will be recognised as one of the most significant failures of public oversight in modern Ireland. No amount of slick accountancy, selective reporting, or bureaucratic spin will conceal the truth:

Those responsible failed — and the people of Donegal were left to carry the consequences.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

The Reality Of Donegal’s Defective Concrete Scandal Is Being Buried

Enda Craig ⬟ Governments aggressively chase inward investment through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) because it creates jobs, drives technological advancement, and boosts tax revenues.
 
To attract global capital, national and regional authorities offer highly competitive incentives, including tax breaks, streamlined regulatory approvals, and financial grants.

Governments use a variety of aggressive tactics to secure this investment.

Financial Incentives
 
State and national agencies frequently offer direct cash grants, subsidized land, and infrastructure development to lower the upfront capital costs for large corporations.

Tax Relief

Many regions utilize corporate tax exemptions, reduced tariffs, and specialized economic zones (such as enterprise zones or freeports) to guarantee higher long-term profit margins for investors.

Dedicated Investment Agencies
 
Entities such as Select USA act as concierge services for multinational corporations, helping them navigate local labor laws, fast-track building permits, and bypass bureaucratic red tape.
 
Workforce Subsidies

Governments often fund custom training programs or directly subsidize employee wages during a company’s initial launch phase to ensure a ready and skilled local workforce.

While this aggressive pursuit generates substantial economic activity, it can also create "bidding wars" where governments offer increasingly expensive packages of subsidies, occasionally leading to intense international rivalries over major manufacturing or tech projects.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Stormont MLAs And The Part They Played In Enticing Dalradian To Mine The Sperrins

Enda Craig ⬟ Are British royal charters still in existence, valid in Ireland and do they mentions Lough Foyle specifically?

Yes, some British royal charters remain valid in Ireland, particularly in the Republic of Ireland, due to specific legal accommodations made after independence. While the monarchy no longer grants new charters, existing ones were largely incorporated into the new Irish legal system, often with the agreement reached during the 1922 treaty negotiations. This has allowed some organizations, and even some specific rights like certain fishing or land rights, to continue to exist or function legally under the authority of their original charter.
 
Historical context:  Royal charters were granted to organizations and for rights during the period when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.

Post-independence: After the creation of the Irish Free State, the legal status of these charters was addressed. Many were confirmed and transitioned into the Irish legal framework.

Continuing validity: As a result, some charters that were recognized by the Crown continue to have legal standing in the Republic of Ireland, as affirmed by the 1922 Treaty and subsequent Irish law.

Examples: This includes organizations that still use "royal" in their names (like the Royal Irish Academy) and certain property or rights, such as those in Lough Foyle, which remain Crown property due to a royal charter.

New charters: No new royal charters can be granted in the Republic of Ireland since the country abolished the monarchy.

Are British royal charters still in existence and valid across former colonies?

No, British royal charters are generally not valid across former colonies in a legal sense, as each former colony is now an independent state with its own laws. While some organizations in former colonies may still retain their "royal" designation or have their original charter acknowledged, these charters do not hold legal authority over national governments or their citizens in the new nations.

Why charters are not valid in former colonies.

National sovereignty: When former colonies gained independence, they became sovereign states with their own constitutions and legal systems, which superseded any authority from the British Crown or its charters.

Repeal of colonial laws:  Acts of independence have typically included provisions that repeal British laws, including the colonial laws that would have upheld the charters' authority.

Legal distinction: A royal charter is a UK legal instrument that is valid within the UK's jurisdiction. It does not extend to other countries unless specific legal arrangements have been made, which is not the case for independent nations.
 
How some organizations still retain charters

Historical significance: Many organizations continue to use their royal name or retain their charter for historical, cultural, or symbolic reasons.

Internal organization: The charter may still function as a form of incorporation for the organization itself, granting it legal status and perpetual succession within its home country's legal framework.
Legal accommodation: Some countries have made legal accommodations to allow these organizations to continue operating under their existing charters while transitioning to the new national legal timeline.
 
Modern-day relevance

The Commonwealth: The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 54 independent countries that were formerly part of the British Empire, but it does not give the British monarchy any legal authority over its members.

Organizational status: While the charter itself may not have extraterritorial legal validity, it can continue to be a source of prestige and a basis for the organization's internal governance.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Read The Difference Between Ireland And Other Former Colonies

Enda Craig ⬟ All TDs in the Dáil quietly accept that they won’t deliver meaningful change for their constituents. 

What they do recognise is that there are 174 seats to fill—and the real contest isn’t about policy, it’s about visibility.

Clicks, likes, shares, and media coverage have become the currency of political survival. That’s the game, and every TD knows it.

Substantive achievements for the electorate come a distant second to dominating the spotlight and securing re-election. Those who dare to point out the lack of real progress are often met with hostility from loyal supporters.

Legislative impact isn’t the priority—there’s no accountability for that.

The system rewards performance theatre and grandstanding over measurable progress.

It’s about talking the talk, getting elected, cashing in, and staying. put.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

The Reality Of Getting And Staying On The Gravy Train

Enda Craig ⬟ This motion hands the Government a golden opportunity to overwrite Deputy Ward’s original wording with a carefully crafted narrative that casts the redress scheme in glowing, international PR-friendly terms.

In doing so, the Government sidesteps accountability and emerges from this political wreckage smelling of roses. 

Meanwhile, unaffected homeowners are fed a polished version of events, portraying Donegal residents as ungrateful recipients of generous compensation.

The Government’s amendment will be tabled first, and with the numbers behind it, it will pass—effectively burying Deputy Ward’s motion without a vote, without a trace.

The official Dáil record will reflect only the triumphant Government amendment, while the original motion vanishes into procedural oblivion.

No matter how it's spun, this strategy lacks coherence, credibility, and critical thinking.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

The Self-Sabotaging “Landmark Motion” on Defective Concrete 🪶What It Really Delivers

Enda Craig ⬟ The disgraceful neglect by successive Irish governments has left thousands of innocent Donegal residents suffering, as their homes crumble due to defective concrete — a direct result of inadequate government oversight.

When the State finds itself entangled in a disaster of its own making, its response is often a study in calculated detachment.

For each affected homeowner whose house is crumbling, this is far more than a structural failure — it is a financial, emotional, and deeply personal catastrophe that threatens the stability of an entire family.

The psychological toll is immense: trapped in a legal obligation to continue paying a mortgage on a home that is disintegrating before their eyes, they watch their hard-earned money vanish into the void. The weight of knowing that their once-valued property is now worthless only intensifies the anguish.

But the State sees it differently.

Despite bearing significant responsibility, it swiftly distances itself from any accountability. Any assistance — meager as it may b e— is framed as a grant, a voluntary act of generosity rather than an obligation.

The crisis is recast as a management project, one whose primary objective is not justice for affected citizens, but the protection of the State’s financial interests at all costs.

This task typically falls to senior civil servants within the relevant government department — here, the Housing Agency.

Their mission is clear: safeguard the State.

Questions of morality, fairness, or fundamental rights are secondary, if considered at all.

In their view, it is nothing personal.

It is simply their job, supported unwaveringly by the political establishment, which makes noise but delivers little in the way of meaningful action.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

The Irish Government V The People 🪶 Homes Ravaged By Internal Sulphate Attack

Catherine McGinty ✏ Foyle pollution: Citizen rights to voice concerns hampered by North - South ‘precise, legally defined, mutually agreed international boundary’

An apparently minor omission by the North’s Department for Infrastructure regarding Dalradian’s proposed goldmine project in County Tyrone’s Sperrin Mountains could trigger a constitutional crisis.

That is the view of seasoned environmental activist, Enda Craig, chairperson of Donegal’s Community for a Clean Estuary (CFCE) campaign.

He explained:

There is no precise, legally defined, mutually agreed international boundary between the Republic of Ireland and the North.
Essentially, this means people living in Donegal may be excluded from the ongoing Transboundary Public Consultation (TPC) on Dalradian’s proposed gold mine.
They will therefore be unable to express their concerns, primarily that pollutants used in the gold mining process will enter the River Foyle and Lough Foyle.

The legal requirement for a TPC abruptly halted the Planning Appeals Commission public inquiry into the proposed goldmine at Curraghinalt near Greencastle, on January 15 - two days after it opened in the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.

Inquiry chairperson, Jacqueline McParland, was informed the Department of Infrastructure, headed by then Minister John O’Dowd (Sinn Féin), had failed to consult the relevant Irish authorities on the transboundary implications of the proposal.

Responding to a question from Labour party leader, Ivana Bacik TD, in Dáil Éireann on February 11, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, confirmed the statutory responsibility for transboundary consultation was enshrined in the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context - the Espoo Convention for short - to which Ireland and Britain are both signatories.

Espoo is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe treaty legally obliging signatories to assess the environmental impact of certain activities at an early stage of planning, and to notify and consult each other on projects likely to have a significant adverse transboundary impact.

Subsequently notified by the Department of Infrastructure, the Dublin Government began a TPC on Dalradian’s proposed goldmine project. Led by Donegal County Council, the TCP opened on February 26 and closes on April 23; anyone in Ireland can make a submission.

Mr Craig, who keeps a weather eye on any developments which might have a detrimental impact on the Foyle, set about compiling a submission on behalf of CFCE, based in Moville on the Lough Foyle shore of the Inishowen peninsula. He said:

That was when, unbelievably, I discovered no international boundary exists between the two regions!

I know because I consulted the official map where it can be seen there is no international boundary line whatsoever in relation to any part of Lough Foyle - especially between Muff and Greencastle on the County Donegal coastline. The boundary indicator stops at Muff.

Map showing the watercourse from the proposed site of the Dalradian gold mine in
County Tyrone which flows into the River Foyle, Lough Foyle and into the Atlantic.

To enable CFCE to prepare a thorough and accurate submission, I have therefore sought clarification on the location of the international boundary in relation to the River Foyle and the identification of the lawful owners of its riverbed, soil and waters, from Donegal County Council - TPC lead. To date this has not been forthcoming.
Clarity on the international boundary is vitally important in the case of Dalradian’s gold mine application. Without a clear agreement on the boundary, citizens of the Irish Republic cannot effectively invoke their rights under the Espoo Convention.
CFCE is therefore urging the Irish Government and Donegal County Council to step in and halt proceedings until this crucial matter is addressed.
As such, until this boundary issue is resolved, the Department for Infrastructure is required to place Dalradian’s planning application on hold.

⏩Catherine McGinty is a journalist covering the North West.

Tyrone Goldmine Proposal Could Trigger ‘Constitutional Crisis’

Enda Craig ⬟ explains why he believes the government changed to an 'enhanced ' scheme and the reasons for downgrading homeowners remediation option from demolition to a lesser fix.

The government's shift from the 90/10 scheme to the 'enhanced' scheme was primarily aimed at removing independent engineers and downgrading homeowners who had been granted unwarranted Option 1s by these engineers. Both MAG and the defective concrete victims were misled.

This change wasn't about acknowledging the shortcomings of the 90/10 scheme or a genuine effort to provide a 100% redress scheme out of goodwill. The narrative that the government wanted to correct the 90/10 scheme, which had effectively become a 60/40 scheme, is misleading.

The real turning point came when Ambrose McCloskey revealed that the crumbling blocks were due to Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals (Pyrrhotite) and not Mica, as indicated by Petrolab test results. This revelation forced the government to reconsider its approach.

Independent engineers under I.S. 465 (focused on Mica in Donegal) realized they couldn't professionally endorse partial fixes based solely on Mica and began insisting on complete demolitions for all remediations. The government couldn't financially support this drastic shift from replacing some affected outer leaf blocks to full demolitions.

To manage costs and control the scheme, the government needed to exclude independent engineers from the decision-making process and hand over control to the Housing Agency and Donegal County Council. The Housing Agency aimed to correct exaggerated remediation options previously given by engineers under the 90/10 scheme. Given this context, it's unlikely that appeals to reinstate the original options will succeed.

This transition from the 90/10 to the enhanced scheme illustrates how the government and senior civil servants misled MAG and homeowners to achieve their objectives.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Duping MAG & Victims Alike

Enda Craig ⬟ asks Why Was It Left To The Ditch To Expose The Govt's Anti-Homeowner's Cynical Treatment In The Defective Concrete Scandal Scheme.

Where were the Donegal opposition TD's, Senators and Councillors with all their highly qualified research assistants at their disposal?

After all it is they who are supposed to hold the Govt of the day to account.

What Are The Functions Of Opposition Politicians?

The Opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. The Opposition is equally responsible in upholding the best interests of the people of the country.

It seems that continuous grandstanding after the fact is their only contribution. 

A very poor show.

When Is A Government Scheme Truly Designed To Help And When Is It Merely A Facade?

Defective Concrete Victims And Crumbling Homes.

- The grant scheme was ostensibly created to assist victims dealing with defective concrete in their homes in Donegal.

- These homeowners faced significant challenges due to structural issues, and the scheme was meant to provide relief.

Intentions Of The Irish Government

- According to the "On The Ditch" articles, there's no doubt that the Irish government never genuinely intended to help victims in a meaningful way.

- Their actions seemed more like a pretense, raising questions about their true motives.

Why Pretend To Help 

The answer lies in financial stability.

If homeowners lost faith in the possibility of remediation, they might stop repaying their mortgages.

The government likely feared a financial crisis if a large number of homeowners defaulted on their loans.

Senior Civil Servants Role

Senior civil servants, responsible for anticipating trouble situations, foresaw this risk.

By creating a scheme - even if it was just for show - they aimed to prevent widespread mortgage defaults.

In summary, the government's "pretend scheme" served as a stopgap measure to maintain financial stability, even if it fell short of genuinely helping the victims.

This situation underscores the cynical reality between appearance and genuine help in policy decisions.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Cynical Treatment

Enda Craig ✊ It appears that the election of the Cathaoirleach at the AGM of Donegal Co Council did not follow the correct procedure.

According to the rules, when a proposal for a chairperson is followed by a counter proposal or amendment, the amendment must be dealt with first by taking a vote.

If the counter proposal fails to receive more than half of the votes, the original proposal is carried.

However, in this case, it seems that the original proposal was voted on and carried directly, which is indeed incorrect and illegal.

The election should be considered null and void, and it should be re-run following proper and legal procedures.

The fact that the County Executive allowed this situation to occur is concerning.


NB

It’s astonishing that this significant issue unfolded without any reaction from numerous members of the Cl Executive who were present.

Equally concerning is the apparent lack of recognition among the newly elected cl members regarding the illegal voting procedure used to elect the Cathaoirleach.

This official complaint also forwarded to Ethics Registrar, ., SIPO., Ombudsman and Minister for Housing, Local Government.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Election Of Council Cathaoirleach Was Carried Out Illegally At The AGM Of Donegal Co Council.

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.

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

Enda Craig ✊ When the government unveiled the Expert Panel, along with its Terms of Reference that limited the investigation to a desktop study, no objections were raised, thus setting the stage for what was to come. 

Neither the MICA Action Group (MAG) nor the politicians from Donegal recognized (or if they did, they remained silent) that limiting the investigation to a desktop study would prevent the discovery of scientific proof.

It's important to remember that samples from the deteriorated blocks were readily available, yet the government denied requests to send them for analysis, where the true cause of the block degradation could have been identified.

This marked the start of a deceptive journey that eventually led to the creation of I.S. 465, a standard that was unanimously passed by all politicians and MAG, and subsequently codified into law.

For the government to successfully execute this ruse, they must have assumed, quite rightly, that they were dealing with naive individuals. They must have felt confident hearing MAG and others endorsing and advocating for a scheme whose foundation was a fraudulent, homemade protocol based on an irrelevant material known as MICA.

MAG stumbled at the first hurdle and has been faltering ever since. Even when the Expert Panel report was published, identifying Mica as the 'probable' cause, they remained silent, as did the politicians.

We were represented by jesters who turned into misguided leaders and false prophets, who continually stumbled rather than admitting their lack of competence and recognizing that they were being played for fools.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

A Misguided Alliance ✤ The Tale Of The MICA Campaign's Deception By The Government And High-Ranking Officials

Enda Craig ✊What about the thousands of social houses destroyed by defective concrete through the lack of proper testing and market surveillance by DCC?

Also, where was the product insurance that should have been obtained by the Cl to protect the cost to the exchequer?

How a Company Becomes a Supplier to a Local Authority

The process of how a company continues to supply products to a government agency, despite allegations of defects, raises questions. Here's an explanation based on information from a senior engineer in the centralized government product procurement division in County Kerry.

Example of Construction Materials (Concrete Bricks):

Nationally, suppliers are invited to apply to become bona fide suppliers to local governments and be included on a centralized list. Applicants must provide various details, including proof of adequate insurance. Once approved, they're added to the list.

In Donegal County Council, a procurement officer is tasked with identifying suitable suppliers when needed, such as for a large order of bricks. This officer must consult the centralized procurement list for suppliers in Donegal and invite them to tender for the contract. Responding companies must then submit detailed hard copies of their insurance for consideration.

The senior engineer highlighted the critical role of insurance, serving as the Council's financial safeguard against future product issues.

The Big Question

If a company provided their insurance and it was accepted by the Council, why didn't the Council pursue reimbursement when issues arose? This question was to be addressed at Council meetings on July 19th and 26th, 2023 initially raised by Councillor McBrearty. However, the Council's executive sought to discuss the legal matters in a closed session, preventing public disclosure of the reasons.

Councillor McBrearty stood alone in objecting to the private discussion, insisting on transparency. The dispute led to the cancellation of the closed meeting, leaving the question unanswered.

Reportedly, the Council intended to conceal their mishandling by claiming the supplier's insurance had a three-year statute of limitations. They purportedly planned to argue that no mica-infested products were used within this timeframe, which would inadvertently cast the supplier in a positive light.
This revelation prompts reflection on the transparency and accountability of elected public representatives and whose interests they truly serve.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

The Silence Of The Politicians In Donegal Is Deafening

Enda Craig ✊ It is now self evident and crystal clear that the strategy adopted by MAG etc over this past ten years has been a dismal failure in all respects.

Well intentioned efforts are mostly to be applauded but the lack of any meaningful or visible progress whatsoever dictates that a different approach has to be considered.

Continuing to travel the same old stale road, repeating the mistakes of the past and hoping, somehow, for a successful outcome is a forlorn and meaningless strategy.

Operating on a continuous reactive basis playing catchup with the opposition means you are always behind the curve and at the mercy of the other side.

It is time to become proactive with some critical thinking that will challenge the existing Govt narrative and put them on the back foot.

It is time to put an end to the continuous fiddling with side issues that will not fundamentally challenge or change the govt strategy.

It is time to grasp the One thing that will potentially put the affected homeowners in the driving seat and give them a guaranteed 100% Redress And No Less with a definite fighting chance of success.

It is time to instigate a Judicial Review challenging the legality of I.S. 465 ( 2018 ) and have it replaced by existing EU regulations which will insist every homeowner's affected concrete blocks and foundations will be scientifically tested for Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals i.e. Pyrrhotite, the real cause of your blocks crumbling.

If your blocks/foundations are found to contain 0.1% or more of Pyrrhotite ( which is the maximum allowed under EU regulations ) then from an engineering perspective you are entitled to full demolition and foundations replaced on the basis that deterioration of your building from Sulphate Attack is Progressive and unstoppable.

This Judicial Review strategy was used successfully by an Inishowen Environmental Group CFCE ( Community For A Clean Estuary ) when they took JR proceedings against the Govt and Donegal Co Cl for the use of defective legislation in relation to a major project on Lough Foyle and won their case. There is every reason to consider this route as a possible strategy.

Why MAG and co have refused to even discuss this possibility is simply beyond understanding.

Over this past ten years there has been no attempt to take real ownership of this campaign from the affected homeowners point of view.

A case in point is the unbelievable situation where a discredited IS 465 (Mica only in Donegal) is still being used to inform remediation decisions even though the dogs in the street know that MICA has nothing to do with the problem.

And then, even more unbelievably, is the fact that we agree to allow the NSAI, who designed and created this fraudulent protocol, to take charge of its ' review ' of IS 465 when instead there should be a public inquiry into its creation in the first place.

Do not forget that a doctor of civil engineering who is also I.S. 465 qualified has, on more than one occasion, stated that this fraudulent protocol 'Is Not For For Purpose'.

Affected homeowners should grasp the nettle and take charge of their own destiny or spend another ten years following false prophets down meaningless rabbit holes going nowhere.

The political road has become a massive failure as was predicted and is now dead in the water.

There is not one example in the history of the Irish state where the Govt of the day has ever taken responsibility for a scandal it created and then done the right thing by the people.

It is self-evident that the Defective Concrete Blocks scandal will simply become another statistic in that category.

The disastrous 90/10 scheme led to the so called 'enhanced' scheme which has now become the "Plausible Impossible" scheme that the vast majority of applicants wont be able to use.

As an example if you are granted Option 1 (Demolition) it has become clear that you will need to make up a substantial financial shortfall which only the well - heeled will be able to afford.

If you are offered any of the remaining options 2 to 5 you will need a chartered engineer to sign off on the completed works and we now know that will not happen.

See the following comment from Dr Ambrose Mc Closkey in relation to that issue:

A remediated house will not be ‘signed off’ by any reputable engineer whilst defective blocks remain within its structure.

From this it is plain to see that the Govt has tightened the requirements of the 'enhanced' scheme to make it completely unworkable.

Game, set and match to the Govt and DCC.

Which part of all of this does MAG and the Redress Focus Groups not see?

Do they think it is right and proper to expect the Engineers to forego their professional and ethical responsibilities and sign off on sub-standard remediation works just to save the Govt/NSAI/DCC for inventing a fraudulent protocol. This will only help a small handful of well heeled affected homeowners make their properties saleable, mortgageable and insurable after demolition and rebuild while leaving the vast majority at the starting line unable to afford the shortfall to enable them to so the same.

Does MAG and Redress Focus Groups think for one moment that the NSAI and DCC will step up to the plate and admit they got I.S. 465 wrong and then explain how they all connived to design and invent a fraudulent protocol I.S. 465? Also what is their present position on the fifteen hundred plus illegal remediation decisions already taken on the strength of it?

Its past time to review the campaign strategy and do whats necessary to have a proper fighting chance.

Look not to grandstanding politicians or false prophets to solve this state sponsored scandal.

They have been found wanting and its time they acknowledged this fact.

The support and experience of those who have previously and successfully challenged the State and won is available.

Time to take ownership of this scandal.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

10 Years On And No Progress For Donegal Houses - Time For A Judicial Review Of I.S. 465

Enda Craig ✊ Items that frame our case that the designation of Lough Foyle as Coastal Waters are unjustifiable and harmful to the biodiversity of this outstanding asset are:

The designation was made for the purposes of The Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive which came into force on 21st May 1991.

The identification of the outer limits of Estuaries in Ireland for the UWWTD appeared in a report by the EPA (ROI) dated February 1995. This was done in collaboration with the UKDoE and primarily under UK Regulations. The primary work was done by the DoE with basically the rubber stamp of the EPA.

The UWWTD requires that Member States establish the outer (seaward) limits of estuaries for the purposes of the directive.

Article 2 of the UWWTD directive defines 'estuary' as: the transitional area at the mouth of a river between fresh water ans coastal water.

The (present) line designating the outer limit of the estuary (near the river mouth at Culmore) was determined from 'an assessment of the available salinity data' primarily.

The Humber and Severn Estuaries were subjected to this process and declared Coastal Waters. The two cities of Bristol and Kingston upon Hull successfully brought a judicial review against the UK DoE in January 1996. There must surely be a precedent in this as the court dismissed the case on the grounds that the UK proposals under the UK Regulations were not in the spirit of the EC Directive. This renders the use of these regulations for the Foyle classification as questionable at the very least.

The provisions of the UWWTD will be subsumed into the Water Framework Directive in May of this year so a proper designation is now urgently required to avoid this faulty classification becoming becoming fully ratified.

Discharges into Coastal Waters have less stringent control than into estuarine waters.

The following abstracts from a paper by M. Elliot and D.S. McLusky entitled 'The Need for Definitions in Understanding Estuaries' should help clarify. Please note that Professor Mike Elliot of the Institute of Estuarine & Coastal Studies, University of Hull, is the leading UK authority on this subject. I have the full paper and if you would like to have it please let me know.

In regard to the UWWTD and definition of estuaries:

As with all such directives, the European States had discretion in implementing the Directive and thus the U.K. and others chose a further definition, that of the presence or absence of High Natural Dispersing Areas (i.e. the sea) which reflected the response to organic inputs. As such, the (then) UK Department of the Environment (DoE) redefined the Severn and Humber estuaries as sea even though in the case of the latter that ‘ sea ’ area stopped at the Humber Bridge situated halfway along the estuary, and the Severn stopped at the Severn Bridge, situated almost at the top of the estuary (Dyer 1996)! 

Given the local pressure to reduce sewage inputs, the two major cities involved, Bristol and Kingston-upon-Hull, successfully brought a judicial review against the UK DoE in January 1996 (Pearce, 1996). 

In acting for the municipal authorities, the Institute of Estuarine & Coastal Studies at the University of Hull were asked to clarify definitions of estuaries and thus considered biological, chemical, physical and geographic factors.

The scientists and environmental law scholars tended towards an ‘ expert-view ’ definition that ‘if it looks like an estuary, smells like an estuary and behaves like an estuary, then there is a good chance that it is an estuary ’!

In implementing the EU Directive, the U.K. through its Urban Waste-water regulations 1994, adopted two alternative definitions of estuaries: an area receiving freshwater inputs where the waters on a depth-averaged basis have a salinity of less than 95% of the adjacent local offshore seawater for 95% of the time; or: an inlet of the sea bounded by a line between such topographical features as define the seaward boundary of the estuary.

The judicial review supported the first of these definitions and took the view that above this threshold it becomes the sea. However, this definition was never tested rigorously as, in the final decision, the court eventually dismissed the case on the grounds that the proposals were not within the spirit of the Directive.

Even within the UK Regulations it is difficult to see how Lough Foyle was classified as Coastal Waters. It is perfectly clear that the relevant topographical features in this case are between Greencastle and Magilligan point, constituting a relatively narrow coastal break and a line between these points defines the seaward boundary of the estuary. As the entire fresh water production of the rivers Foyle, Roe, Faughan and their tributaries have to exit to the sea across this line twice every day, it would be astonishing if the given salinity limits would permit the estuary side of this line to be declared sea. Nevertheless, the Humber/Severn case dismissal at the judicial review is salutary and seems to offer a legal precedent to instruct the relevant departments to put this thing right. The only real surprise is that it is taking such an effort to cause this to happen.

The technical staff in the DoE(NI) and EPA (ROI) who were dealing with this matter are:

DoE(NI): Michael McAliskey

Marine Assessment and Licensing Team

Water Management Unit

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

17 Antrim Rd. Lisburn

BT28 3AL

Tel 02892623162

Mob 07881540041

EPA(ROI): Shane O'Boyle

Regional Inspectorate

McCumiskey House

Richview

Clonskeagh Rd.

Dublin 14

Tel 00353 1 268 0100

⏩Enda Craig is Spokesperson for Community for a Clean Estuary

Lough Foyle Waters Reclassified In 1995 From Esturine To Coastal And Not A Word From Anyone

Enda Craig ✊ shares some thoughts on Calls for urgent clarity over selling and remortgaging of remediated defective block properties.

Enough Of The Meaningless Emotional Bleating. Instigate a judicial review on the legality of the fraudulent protocol i.s. 465 and have it replaced by existing European regulations/legislation.

Why doesn't Sinn Fein or Deputy Pringle take a Judicial Review, in the public interest, challenging the legality of the fraudulent protocol I.S. 465. Have it replaced by the existing European Regulations which will take into account Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals e.g.  Pyrrhotite. Thereby giving all affected home owners their proper remediation option i.e. Demolition. 

Allowing the fraudulent Protocol I.S. 465 "Mica Only" to be used as the yardstick for determining your remediation option is beyond belief and makes fools of the affected home owners. Whoever controls the Protocol controls the scheme. Every Application assessed to date has been done on the basis of a fraudulent protocol that measures Mica only when it has been scientifically proven that Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals and other Deleterious Materials are the real cause of the defective blocks problem. 

Donegal Co Cl and the Housing Agency will continue to assess all existing and incoming applications based on Mica only during the so called Protocol review period ignoring completely the real scientific cause which should be based on the percentage amount of RISM in your blocks and foundations. By the end of the year this will have amounted to several thousands. DCC and the Housing Agency are being allowed to make complete fools of all affected homeowners. It has also transpired that DCC are ignoring engineers' demolition recommendations and applying a cheap downgrade option in their place in complete contravention of the engineers' lawful recommendation.

It is beyond belief whats happening. People are being treated as complete fools while politicians play the grandstanding card. A suspect protocol that is under review should never be allowed to continue to be used to determine your remediation option. What happens if it is found to be unethical and not fit for purpose? Will all those applications where it was wrongly used be re-visited and amended? Not a chance in hell. Its time to leave the meaningless bleating to one side and actually do something that's actually meaningful.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Enough Of The Meaningless Emotional Bleating

Enda Craig 🏘 It is well accepted that across various institutions/organisations that light touch regulation was a ' Recipe for Disaster '.

Donegal Co Cl Headquarters,
Lifford, Co Donegal
Light touch regulation refers to the approach of the government and regulatory bodies to regulate certain industries with minimal intervention. This approach is intended to promote economic growth while allowing businesses to operate with greater flexibility.

In practical terms what did that mean for the concrete manufacturing sector in Donegal as an example?

Local Authorities transfers legal responsibility for the proper manufacture of concrete aggregate and concrete products to the quarry owners and concrete product manufacturers.

Quarry owners and concrete product manufacturers now required to confirm in writing to the local authority on a yearly basis that they are applying the relevant and legal EU regulations etc to their activities.

DCC market surveillance and product control now operate on a reactive basis to the concrete industry.

They respond only to written complaints from the public re illegal practices in the quarries and concrete manufacturing plants.

DCC states that they received no written complaints re either.

So, who is to blame?

Will the DCC hide behind Light Touch Regulation as decided by national government?

Unbelievably, they now stopped Market Surveillance and Building Control officers from carrying out spot checks on quarries to determine the quality of the aggregate and also on concrete manufacturing plants.

It was now the sole responsibility of the quarries and concrete manufacturing plants to police themselves and to make sure all concrete products being sold to the public were up to EU standard and fit for purpose.

This self/light touch regulation was indeed mostly to blame for the inferior products that were sold to the homeowners in Donegal.

Self regulation was a disastrous, delusional concept as greed was certain to become the dominant factor as the quarry and concrete manufacturers were free of all checks and tests.

Each local authority was responsible for implementing its own Market Surveillance and Building Control policy and on that basis Donegal Co Cl has many questions to answer.

Will they adopt the "we knew nothing" response even though they were aware for years anecdotally that houses were cracking wholesale throughout the county.

Not to forget they had 1300 0f their own housing stock doing the same.

Where does that leave the quarries and concrete manufacturing companies?

Some have already stated their products were manufactured at all times according to the relevant standards.

It is also known that some of these companies no longer exist.

Where does it leave the Govt and DCC who primarily caused the problem by introducing self-regulation and allowing the concrete sector an open road without ANY checks or tests?

The Govt introduced the 90/10 grant scheme to cloak the fact that they were primarily to blame for this scandal by introducing the disastrous self regulation that allowed the quarry and concrete owners to supply unfit for purpose products.

Greed became the overriding dominant factor for Govt and the quarry/concrete manufacturers.

Expecting either or both of these groups to own up voluntarily and make just reparation goes against everything they believe in.

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Light Touch Regulation To Blame For The Defective Concrete Scandal In Donegal

Enda Craig 🏘 What Was Really Going On Behind Closed Doors?

The Govt has known since 1954 that Ireland had a major Pyrrhotite problem.

They do not need educating on what is really wrong with the blocks and foundations . . . 

No one knows better.

Blaming Mica was a deliberate attempt to deceive the homeowners of Donegal.

Where were all the scientists, some of whom were personally affected, when they read the Expert Panel report (published June 2017) stating MICA was the problem.

No scientist worth his professional salt would have swallowed that nonsense.

What was really going on .......?

Do not try to tell me that none of the civil engineers and geologist on the expert panel did not know.

Do not tell me that none of the engineers and scientists on the NSAI 063 committee did not know.

Do not tell me that none of the civil engineers on Donegal Co Cl did not know.

And then of course there is the unbelievable case of the Mica Action Group representatives not saying a word when they returned from Connecticut after seeing the devastating effects of Pyrrhotite on concrete at first hand in Oct 2019.

There is a shameful back story to this Mica scandal that has yet to see the true light of day.

Its time those involved in this mega deceit and cover-up did the decent thing and admitted what was going on.

Was MAG convinced by their political handlers not to mention what they found out about Pyrrhotite in America and then shamefully kept their mouths shut and in so doing sold out the homeowners?

Did they in fact throw them under the bus?

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Were The Defective Concrete Homeowners Of Donegal Sold Out?

Enda Craig ✍ The Scientists have now stated unequivocally that Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals i.e. Pyrrhotite was indeed the real cause of the concrete blocks crumbling in Donegal homes and not Mica as the Govt would have us believe.

This makes a complete farce of the Govt's protocol I.S. 465 which was designed to consider Mica as the Only cause of the blocks crumbling in Donegal and ignore completely the reactive minerals.

That being the case the following question must surely be asked: 

Did the Government and all the associated institutions and individuals that supported them make a genuine mistake when they designed and passed into law I.S. 465 or did they deliberately devise a plan to deceive, short-change and cheat the affected homeowners of Donegal by assembling a cheap, ineffective and unworkable grant scheme?

After all, they portrayed the 90/10 and the upcoming 'Enhanced' grant schemes as a genuine attempt to put right a huge injustice which most people agree was of the Govt's own making.

In fact, they unashamedly claimed the 'Enhanced Scheme' to be 100% Redress.

So, let's follow the chain of events from the beginning in an attempt to get the full picture and see if we can find where the truth lies.

Back in 2012/13 when the Donegal TDs raised the crumbling blocks as an issue in the Dail the then Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey decided to come to Donegal on a fact-finding mission and to see at first hand the extent of the scandal of the affected homeowners and their houses.

He met with a wide spectrum of politicians, civil servants, groups and individuals culminating in a number of visits to affected homes where he witnessed on site the crumbling blocks.

By all reports he was deeply shocked and on his return to Dublin announced his intention of setting up an expert panel to investigate the cause of the deteriorating blocks in the walls of people's houses that were growing in number by the day.

The following year his successor, Minister Damien English, officially announced the setting up of the expert panel to investigate the ever-growing scandal of crumbling blocks in people's homes in Donegal.

Its membership consisted of three highly regarded civil engineers and a geologist.

But here we find the first indication that the Govt might well be up to no good and indeed have a predetermined plan of their own in relation to how they believe this problem should be solved.

Unbelievably they published Terms of Reference for the Expert Panel which restricted their investigations to an academic 'Desk Top Study' only which did not allow the team of Engineers and Geologist to send off for scientific analysis the crumbled remains of the concrete blocks which would have identified immediately the Real and Absolute scientific reasons why the blocks crumbled.

In truth it could be said that in so doing the Govt completely prevented the Expert Panel from carrying out the necessary forensic investigation of the evidence (material from the crumbled blocks) and instead tied their hands behind their backs by restricting them to a desk top study which would search for Mica only and nothing else.

This decision by the Government not to allow the material evidence of the crumbled blocks to be sent for analysis is critically important as it flies in the face of all investigative logic and reason and calls into question their true motives in attempting to get to the truth of what happened to the building blocks from the affected houses.

It also gives a very clear insight into the road map that the Govt had already planned to travel and which gave the message to all those who would now be involved in the investigation and solution on the road to IS 465, their intended destination, which would put the blame completely on Mica.

The Expert Panel, notwithstanding the restrictions imposed on them, blamed Mica on a guess and without an ounce of scientific research. They forwarded their report to the Govt who in turn forwarded it onto the NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) with orders to design a standard to deal with the "Mica" problem in Donegal and Pyrite in Mayo.

The NSAI set up a Technical Committee (063) and tasked it with the Govt's request to design a Standard based on Mica only in Donegal to deal with remediation of the affected houses on a legal basis. This they obligingly did.

I.S. 465 was created and the Govt was given what the Govt wanted from the word go - a protocol which would base all remediation options on the amount of Mica in your affected wall blocks and unbelievably no mention of Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals or indeed the testing of potentially infected foundations.

Game set and match to the Govt and backed to the hilt with some of the most important heavyweights in the business, NSAI Technical Committee 063, who saw nothing wrong and gave it their seal of technical and academic approval.​

The political establishment, across the board, also agreed and in Feb.2020 I.S.465 was incorporated into national legislation namely S.I. 25 of 2020 which became known in Donegal as the “90/10 Scheme”.

Let there be no doubt about it - this is the way Govts do their business.

It is the reason each Govt department has a top layer of highly qualified senior civil servants who will firstly and secretly travel the road and decide what the outcome is going to be. They control the process, the journey and the destination from beginning to end.

To this end they also have available the requisite technical and academic heavyweights.

This is exactly what happened in relation to the establishment of I.S. 465.

The Dept of Housing knew well that the real problem was Reactive Iron Sulphide Minerals i.e. Pyrrhotite before they announced the Expert Panel and it's ridiculous Terms of Reference.

Ireland was well known and mentioned as having this problem as far back as 1954.

The Govt and its top civil servants knew if the real truth was found out i.e. Pyrrhotite it would mean demolitions of All affected buildings across the board.

They were given a glimpse of a financial nightmare which had to be avoided at all costs and they began working on putting together a cheap and deceitful alternative.

They found it in a material called Mica and they built a believable fairy tale around it of  'freeze/thaw', blaming it for the crumbling blocks in the homes of Donegal in an effort to minimise the cost to the state without the least regard to the innocent affected homeowners.

The following statement is a synopsis and a perfect example to demonstrate the shameful deceit perpetrated on the homeowners of Donegal. It is taken, word for word, from an interview given by Mr Aidan O'Connell on RTE on the 24th April 2022.

Mr O'Connell is a chartered civil engineer, a structural expert with particular expertise on Mica related issues and a member of the NSAI Technical Committee 063 which designed I.S. 465 on behalf of the Government:

Mica doesn't chemically react. It is like tissue paper within a concrete block where it absorbs water and then when that water freezes it makes the block burst internally. You can prevent the moisture from getting into the concrete block then largely you will be doing away with the problem . . . So in my opinion the building is not structurally compromised and will not become structurally compromised as long as you maintain the exterior.

This statement was completely debunked by the International Scientists at the conference in Letterkenny especially the notion that Mica absorbs water like a tissue. This statement exposes the true agenda of the Government whose sole intention was to put in place a cheap farce of a scheme, save the Govt exchequer and throw the homeowners under the bus.

When all things are considered, people must ask themselves some important fundamental questions.

Where was the point in ever lobbying those who caused the problem in the first place by putting in place self-regulation on the quarries and concrete manufactured products and thereby allowing the scandal to take place?

The political establishment, right across the board, have shown their true colours by putting in place two grant schemes which are a complete insult to all the innocent victims of this home destroying scandal.

The complete campaign to date has been a disaster and shows no sign of critical analysis or change of direction.

The following statement sums up all that is wrong with the road travelled to date:​

"Those who cause a problem should never be part of creating the solution."

⏩ Enda Craig is a Donegal resident and community activist.

Subject: I.S. 465 ✑ Was It A Genuine Mistake Or A Deliberate Deceit By The Government

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