LIMERICK and Shannon residents affected by the pyrite issue are worried that they won’t be able to have access to the Fair Deal nursing home scheme.
Before applicants can be admitted to the scheme, they must have a property valuation against which the HSE can claim after their death.
However, because the legacy of the faulty concrete goes back decades, there are fears that many of those affected in Shannon and elsewhere are of an age where they are starting considering later-life care and pyrite problems will render their homes worthless or impossible to sell.
Shannon Fianna Fáil candidate David Griffin has written to the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Older Persons, Mary Butler TD, on behalf of affected pyrite homeowners to seek clarity on their access the Fair Deal scheme.
Mr Griffin has said that he has been seeking clarity through the HSE for some time and is struggling to get a clear answer on how local people affected by pyrite will be treated under the Nursing Home Support Scheme.
“I have been closely following the development of defective concrete block scheme and the eventual admittance of Clare to the scheme,” he said.
“To find out your home is affected by pyrite is a devastating blow, and I know in my own house, and in homes of people I speak to, that the anxiety, worry, and fear is palpable.
“At later stages in life, especially if you are retired, your ability to seek credit, to get loans, or access finances can be limited due to a perceived lack of earning power. People are worried enough about the potential demolition of their homes – when will it happen, where will they go if it does – without having this additional uncertainty.”
A response by the HSE to a parliamentary question raised by one of Mr Griffin’s party colleagues, said that, in respect of the valuation of a property under the scheme, “it is necessary for the applicant to provide a current valuation from a registered auctioneer or valuer for each property”.
Mr Griffin said that the reality for many homeowners is that their properties are perceived as worthless “and even if a valuation is given to gain access to the scheme, selling the house afterwards to settle up with the Fair Deal scheme will be hugely challenging”.
