Mica redress campaigners apply to become political party for local elections

Mica redress campaigners have lodged an application to register as the newest political party in the State, promising to be a “force to be reckoned with” ahead of local elections next year.

The 100 per cent Redress Party is planning to field candidates in Donegal and officially submitted papers to the Electoral Commission last month, a spokesman for the commission confirmed to The Irish Times.

Ali Farren, a party member, said just over 300 people had signed up for the party already, meaning it meets one of the main criteria for official registration as a party in the State.

“Donegal is crumbling as a result of defective concrete blocks,” he said. “A group of us got together and felt we need a voice at the table to keep on the agenda the issue of defective blocks in Donegal and elsewhere,” he said.

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Mr Farren said that “behind the scenes, we’re working to get all our ducks in a row”.

“We’re waiting to get confirmation we can be a party, and once we become a party, we’ll be seeking to go public.”

The presence of Mica candidates on the ballot paper at local elections could put pressure on candidates from existing parties who have come under pressure to tackle the mica issue, with Mr Farren indicating that the campaigners are for now only thinking about the local contests.

“We believe in this moment in time we’ll fight county council elections, purely to see what the support will be.”

“We’re a work in progress but by next May or June when we hope to be fighting the elections, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. We’re hoping to take votes from everybody and speak for defective block owners full stop.”

A spokesman for the Electoral Commission confirmed that it has received an official application from the group which is under consideration, adding that the necessary formal documentation required under the legislation is being requested and reviewed and the application is progressing.

Successive governments have been grappling with the issue of defective blocks caused by the presence of the mineral mica for a decade, with the current Coalition agreeing to enhance an existing scheme to cover 100 per cent of repair costs up to a ceiling of €420,000 agreed last November. The price of the scheme is €2.7 billion, but could rise higher again to as much as €3.65 billion if inflation runs consistently high.

Funding the scheme proved to be a bone of political contention last year, when the Government was forced to water down plans for a defective concrete blocks levy announced in the budget following a backlash from backbench TDs who said it would add to the cost of construction and exacerbate the wider housing crisis.

Mr Farren said that the party’s policies were not fully developed yet but that 100 per cent redress for all affected property owners, including commercial buildings and farmers, would be a core aim.

“We think by being at the table we will be working to improve [the current scheme],” he said, adding that the mental health of people in the area would also be a core principle, as well as the construction of social homes or modular homes for those whose properties have been affected.

He said the party would not necessarily be a single issue one: “The word redress has been used a lot but it means so much, we have so much to redress, it could be our fishing communities, our harbours and coastlines, our inner cities, our roads. We want to redress lots of things, but ultimately our first focus will be defective concrete blocks and our homes,” he said.