The UpSet in Concrete Podcast

A 2-year-old died breathing mould in the UK. Irish children are living in the same conditions right now. Hear from the homeowners who travelled to the Dáil from Mayo, Donegal and Skerries on November 25th 2025 to demand action. There is a further Part 2 with different homeowners' voices to come. ==== REQUIRED ATTRIBUTION ==== A quick note for anyone involved in journalism or research: should any aspect of this episode — including the sources listed in the description — contribute to or inform your own work, I would ask please use the following attribution as audio in if your work is audiovisual and in text otherwise: "This article/news item/programme/academic paper etc. is informed in part by research and reporting from Grant March at Backstory.ie" Clear attribution is an established journalistic and academic norm and is appreciated. Attribution is even more relevant as to date all my reporting has been done using my own finances as a volunteer. Thank you.==== SOURCES ==== 2025-10-22 Defective Concrete: The Science, Mental Health Impacts, and the Case for Including All Stakeholders made by Ulster University Academics Prof Paul Dunlop, Dr Eileen Doherty, Prof Karen Kirby and PhD Researcher Oisin Keenan in the AV Room in the Dáil. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2025-10-22-defective-concrete-science-mental-health-impacts-march-nvuxe/ https://www.facebook.com/backstoryie/posts/pfbid0q9rSgCG65MzxBczdiU32hPAATvu7Z3qy8PsAiUjr5yHApJaGce8oypHtaxFpVNoblClare Fallon's Channel 4 News Report on Death of 2 Year Old due to Mould https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHB_fHbYkHA&t=5sPeople's Document Meeting with Politicianshttps://youtu.be/MF-HcL1p2uMPeople's Document Meeting with Homeownershttps://youtu.be/ocJO5Q35hm0Failed by the State: Nicola Byrne's Defective Concrete Nightmare https://upsetinconcrete.backstory.ie/e/failed-by-the-government-nicola-byrne-and-her-familys-defective-concrete-nightmare/Corinne Garner from Petrolab talking about EXCESSIVE testing from the Clare Pyrite Action Group's Conference title "Losing Your Home" https://youtu.be/qneXxPhInCA?t=5175 ==== MUSIC ATTRIBUTION ===The music for this episode is... 'Echoes' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Imagine finding mouse droppings on your pillow. Now imagine you are stuck living in that scenario - indefinitely!
Nicola Byrne hired an engineer to check out her potential "forever home" near Castlebar. Everything looked good. She and her  husband, Derek, bought the house.
However, within days, things were going wrong.
Today, seven people share a converted garage granny flat. 
The family have an additional problem: They viewed this house at Christmas 2020. But the government's cutoff date for the remediation scheme is January 2020. Now she has to prove she wasn't acting as a vulture fund.Just when she thinks she's been approved for the scheme, Nicola finds out that she has to pay for retention for an attic space that wasn't in the original plans. An attic that the family cannot afford to rebuild anyway.
This episode reveals what happens when your dream home is defective and the system designed to help becomes another nightmare. A bureaucracy that sends homeowners round in circles.
Nicola, along with Margaret Walsh, are organising a NATIONAL protest with next Tuesday on the 25th November. She refusing to stay silent.
Because if it can happen to the Byrnes, it can happen to anyone.Here is a link to the full talk by Dr Christopher Brough from Petrolab to Engineers Ireland that took place in person in the University of Limerick.This is the UpSet in Concrete Podcast with Grant March at Backstory.ie.
The music for this episode is...
'Echoes' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.auI couldn't recommend Scott Buckley's music high enough. Thanks so much for the CC-BY 4.0 license terms 🙏

Homeowners from Donegal arrived outside the Engineers Ireland headquarters by bus today. Homeowners ended up in a large meeting room. Two homeowner representatives met with Director General Damien Owens and the Head of Public Affairs Mr Cian O'Dowd. Then Mr Owens and Mr O'Dowd spoke with homeowners who were in the meeting room. Marti McElhinney explained what had taken place to the homeowners outside the building. And then I spoke with a number of homeowners, and 2 politiicians, about what had just taken place.

I walked around parts of Inishowen, County Donegal to speak with ordinary people about Defective Concrete and the recent Local elections.

At the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, there were two motions to officially change Sinn Féin's policy regarding remediation of homes affected by defective concrete. One was with regards to social housing. The other was with regards to defective concrete and also defective construction. #100percentredress

There was one significant "miscommunication" (due to langugage issues) and it seems like the EU Mission was a victim of a Department of Housing "charm offensive", but despite that, the EU Mission Petitions Report will add weight to the homeowner led EU complaint which aims to force the Irish Government (and all EU member state Governments) to properly resource their Market Surveillance Offices.
It seems that recommendations arising from the Petitions Report, might create some (non-binding) pressure on the Government to treat homeowners fairly.  
Importantly, homeowners still have the possibility to influence the Petitions committee report, as explained in the video.
#100percentredress

In a letter from the Director General of DG GROW, Ms Kerstin Jorna, Backstory.ie was informed that...
"without pre-empting any future decisions to act, the Commission stated that it would become active against the Irish authorities if it was proven that they were still not ensuring sufficiently effective control of products being placed on the Irish market."
This is fact from the Director General.
This is not hearsay.

This interview was recorded back in June 2023. The video looks at how the EU Petitions Committee came to visit Donegal, starting from when members of MAG were approached by Luke Ming Flanagan at one of the homeowner protests, followed by the homeowner petitions at the Petitions Committee, followed by the EU Workshop of defective concrete, followed by a homeowner meeting with Mr Manfred Fuchs, a representative of the European Commission, who provided advice on making a formal complaint to the European Union. There is also an analysis of the the flawed National Building Control & Market Surveillance Office in Ireland which looks at how the organisation went from "100% compliance" of all quarries in Donegal to a "National Emergency" in a matter of months.The delay in putting this episode together is entirely my fault. Apologies.  #100percentredress

A look at some sculduggery in the banking sector.

Irish Banking - Vulture Funds
Finance Committee exposes deficiencies in enforcement of banking rules and culture.
 
#100percentredress