Mica blocks Donegal scandal: First contaminated house in Northern Ireland is 'tip of the iceberg'

Up to 6000 homes in the Republic of Ireland have begun cracking because of bricks and concrete made of mica. The mineral absorbs water, which can cause walls to crack and crumble.

This week Londonderry couple Danny and Kate Rafferty went public to confirm his home had tested positive for mica and would take £100,000 to repair.

Garrett Harte is a spokesman for some 1500 homeowners in Donegal who are fighting for compensation for mica in their homes.

Within that group are at least 50 people from NI who own second homes in Donegal that are contaminated.

The Irish compensation scheme for remedial works does not cover second homes or commercial properties.

He described the mood among the 50 NI residents whose second homes are excluded as “despair”.

The building materials concerned have also been used across the border in NI, he insists.

"I don't think there's gonna just be one or five or 10 houses" he says of NI. "It will probably be concentrated mainly in Derry and Tyrone.”

Professor Paul Dunlop is a Research Director in Geography & Environmental Sciences at Ulster University in Coleraine.

He bought his family home in a new build development in Buncrana in Co Donegal in 2004.

In 2020 tests confirmed it was contaminated with mica - but also pyrrhotite. He has teamed up with international scientists to research the issue.

"We have tested homes in Donegal and found pyrrhotite is the primary reason homes are cracking in. It is not mica."

The Irish government compensation for mica will fund the replacement of outer walls.

But he says pyrrhotite is much more serious and that such will have to be demolished.

He gave evidence to the Irish parliament in June and it is now researching his findings.

“Only one house in Northern Ireland has been proven to have the problem so far. But that is the tip of the iceberg I think. Do you think that concrete was sold for just one home in Northern Ireland?"