'People have taken out mortgages and are €150,000 in debt' - defective 'concrete scandal' hits Leitrim

People are "afraid to sleep at night" due to defective concrete blocks, a Sligo/Leitrim Senator said this week.

Senator Nessa Cosgrove spoke outside Leinster House where a demonstration made up by groups representing homeowners living in properties affected by Defective Concrete Blocks was taking place.

The demonstration, which was held last week, was attended by groups from throughout the country, including groups from Leitrim and Sligo. 

She said: "I've witnessed myself, first-hand, some of the houses, the absolute destruction and devastation of houses in Donegal. I think it's just the start and that, collectively, the government need to respond. They need 100% redress, this group, and it's time that the government come and listen to the full extent of what's going on here and to recognise that the current scheme isn't actually fit for purpose."

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Speaking at the Labour party conference last month, she said that around 20,000 people are being affected by the issue around the county. "This is not the fault of homeowners; people have taken mortgages out and been left in €150,000 worth of debt. People are afraid to sleep at night; they're afraid the roof will fall down on top of them or the floor might collapse beneath them. This is the fault of those trying to make profit and cutting corners in quarries but there has to be some regulation about it. The responsibility does lie with the state and county councils, as an oversight, to see the type of regulation that's going to happen when we're looking at building people's homes. This defective concrete scandal, which is what it actually is, is going to be seen right down through the west coast and the only person who can respond to that is the state."