Clare County Council has made an official submission to the Minister for Planning, Housing and Local Government requesting the extension of the Concrete Block Scheme.

Sinn Féin TD for Clare, Violet-Anne Wynne, welcomed the request.

She said: "I welcome the confirmation from the Clare County Council that they have made an official submission to the Department of Planning, Housing and Local Government requesting the extension of the defective Concrete Block Scheme to County Clare.

"The Clare Pyrite/Mica Action Group also expressed some concerns with the scheme that is already in place in Donegal and Mayo and they have welcomed that the Clare County Council have outlined these concerns in their correspondence to the Department.

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"It is absolutely vital that the Minister and his officials act on this submission without delay.

"The longer this matter drags on the more it will end up costing, each day these homes go without remediation works the more effected they become.

"So far some 31 homes in Clare have been identified and they range from moderate to severely damaged.

"I would again call on any home owners that feel they may be effected by Pyrite or Mica damage to make themselves known to the action group on [email protected] or on their Facebook page Clare Pyrite/Mica Action Group."

Dr Martina Cleary from the Clare Pyrite/Mica Action Group continued: "We are pleased to hear that an official submission from the Clare County Council has been sent to the Minister.

"It is also good to note that our concerns with the schemes that have been rolled out in Donegal and Mayo have been noted in this submission.

"We must ensure that the short comings that have been identified in the schemes in Donegal and Mayo are not replicated when a similar scheme is rolled out in Clare.

"There are issues around VAT, re-homing, storage, demolition costs, as well as other issues that need to be addressed on this scheme."