Donegal pensioner, 76, facing homelessness as his mica house is soon to be demolished
Frank Crumlish is mourning his wife Hazel, who passed away in January, and since then has been living alone in his crumbling home in Malin
A 76-year-old Donegal man said he is imminently facing homelessness as his house is soon to be demolished due to defective blocks.
Frank Crumlish is mourning his wife Hazel, who passed away in January, and since then has been living alone in his crumbling home in Malin.
The pensioner said his house, which he has lived in for 23 years, is condemned and he is desperately seeking accommodation.
READ MORE: 'People are suicidal, I've considered it myself' - Mica homeowners on the brink
Under the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) grant scheme, alternative accommodation costs are included. However, Mr Crumlish said he doesn’t have the money to rent somewhere and wait to be reimbursed by the council.
He told the Irish Mirror: “I’m living in the house but it’s going to be demolished, it’s not in a good state. It is completely condemned, so I shouldn’t be in it. I have to upfront the money but where am I going to get that?”
The pensioner said he was also told that he has “no chance” of accessing emergency accommodation because he owns a house.
He added: “I own a house but that’s coming down. It’s absolutely disgusting, I’m an Irish citizen and I can’t get anywhere.”
Paddy Diver, his wife and three children moved into a caravan last week as their home has also been devastatingly affected by defective mica blocks.
He said: “It’s totally condemned, I probably should not have let the family be in it last winter because some of the storms left us sleepless nights, there was one night where I thought the roof was going to fall under.
“I probably should have been out of it but we had to push it on because we didn’t have the money.
“At the moment you need to have the money upfront, go out and rent for a while and they will give you the money after. But there’s a lot of people paying for a mortgage that can’t afford (rent) too.”
The father-of-three managed to save some money and borrow from family to buy a caravan, which they are now living in on their property.
He said: “You’re left to fight your own devices, you’re left to survive, if you’re not fit for it mental health-wise or if you don’t have a bit of money to start the scheme then you’re not going to get going because there’s no full payment.”
While the father said he’s happy to be out of the condemned house and in a caravan, it's very cramped for five people to live in, and it’s not winter-ready.
Mr Diver added: “It’s hard times now completely gutting out your house, there’s so many memories. Ideally, it would be better if the children couldn’t see everything going on.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said the DCB grant scheme includes fees related to alternative accommodation, and it's up to designated local authorities to process and pay these grants.
They added: “The Minister is conscious of the difficulties faced by homeowners and in this regard encourages local authorities to be as flexible as possible when processing these grant applications.
“Local authorities can process monthly rental payments to facilitate homeowners in meeting the usual payment requirements set down in rental agreements.”
Donegal County Council did not respond with a comment at time of publication.
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