The UpSet in Concrete Podcast

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

This is just a short clip from Andrea Gilligan's interview with Minister Darragh O'Brien on her Lunchtime Live radio show on Newstalk.
The main purpose of this clip is to document what was said.
NOTE, however, there is a link to the full interview on the Newstalk website here:https://www.goloudplayer.com/episodes/darragh-obrien-thats-a-significa-NjAwMTc1NmJkNWEyYThlMzExMDVlNzI3MThmODRmM2I=

Charlie Ward and Mary Connors, owners of homes with defective blocks, talk about their experience attending Charlie McConalogue's latest meeting which took place on the 8th of May 2023.
The conversation included how Charlie McConalogue, TD demonstrates his priorities, how some senior Fianna Fáil members exhibited cronyism, how a lack of empathy was put on display, how it is necessary now to make meetings uncomfortable, how McConalogue manipulates the narrative, the short-sightedness in dealing with the testing of foundations, the dismissal of the peer reviewed paper on the causes of defective blocks in Donegal that was co-authored by Paul Dunlop and others, how someone started crying during the meeting, the belittling of campaigners who are doing their best, how a meeting with Minister Darragh O'Brien - that never took place - is often  talked about by Senator Niall Blaney, how it appears that Donegal County Council have thrown in the towel, how questions from the Mica Action Group at most recent Donegal County Council were not answered and views on Greg Hughes' announcement that Charlie McConalogue will no longer agree to interviews because "Hughes is anti-government".

This episode consists of 2 interviews recorded with Enda Craig. One was recorded on th 27th November 2022 and a catch-up interview was recorded 8 days ago on the 2nd of April 2023. Much of the discussion was about judicial reviews and about taking issues to Europe. I have added supporting audio from multiple sources. 
Note 1: As a listener, if you think there is anything incorrect in this episode please let me know so that I can take action. 🙏
Note 2: If you are a journalist and your reporting is informed by this podcast and the comprehensive links to source material here, please mention this podcast episode and Backstory.ie in your reporting. 🙏
The case of "Doherty v Referendum Commission"...------------------------------------------------... is a legal case that took place in Ireland in 2012.
In 2012, the Irish government proposed a referendum on a European Union treaty, called the Fiscal Stability Treaty. The treaty aimed to strengthen fiscal discipline and coordination among the EU member states in response to the Eurozone debt crisis. The Irish government established a Referendum Commission to provide information to voters about the treaty and the referendum process.
Pearse Doherty, a member of the Irish parliament and a member of the Sinn Féin political party, challenged the impartiality of the Referendum Commission in the High Court. He claimed that the Commission was biased in favour of a "Yes" vote and that it was acting outside of its statutory powers.
Doherty argued that the Commission had used public funds to produce material that promoted a "Yes" vote, and that it had failed to provide balanced information to voters. He also claimed that the Commission had exceeded its statutory powers by providing information about the treaty's implications for Ireland's membership of the European Union.
The High Court rejected Doherty's claims and found that the Referendum Commission had acted impartially and within its statutory powers. Doherty appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but the Court also dismissed his appeal.
The outcome of the case confirmed the independence and impartiality of the Referendum Commission and its role in providing information to voters on important issues such as EU treaties. The case also highlighted the importance of transparency and fairness in referendum campaigns.
the case of "Pringle v The Government of Ireland"...----------------------------------------------------... is a legal case that was heard in the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2012.
The case was brought by Thomas Pringle, an independent member of the Irish parliament, who challenged the constitutionality of Ireland's participation in the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a mechanism set up to provide financial assistance to EU member states in financial difficulty.
Pringle argued that the ESM was unconstitutional under Irish law because it transferred significant powers and functions of the Irish state to an international organization without the approval of the Irish people through a referendum. He argued that this violated the principle of popular sovereignty, which is enshrined in the Irish Constitution.
The government of Ireland, which was the primary defendant in the case, argued that Ireland's participation in the ESM was necessary to address the financial crisis in the Eurozone and that it was consistent with Ireland's obligations under EU law.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Pringle, finding that the government's decision to participate in the ESM without holding a referendum was unconstitutional. The Court held that the ESM treaty represented a significant transfer of sovereignty from the Irish state to an international organization, and that this transfer of powers required the approval of the Irish people through a referendum.
The outcome of the case was significant because it established an important precedent for the protection of the principle of popular sovereignty in Irish constitutional law. It also highlighted the tension between Ireland's obligations under EU law and its constitutional commitment to popular sovereignty. The case led to a referendum on the ESM treaty, which was held in Ireland in 2012 and was passed by the Irish people with a large majority.
NSAI I.S. 465:2018+A1:2020 - Assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings incorporating concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials and Amendment 1:2020https://shop.standards.ie/en-ie/standards/i-s-465-2018-a1-2020-1136409_saig_nsai_nsai_2889155/
NSAI I.S. EN 771-3:2011+A1:201 - Specification for masonry units -Part 3: Aggregate concrete masonry units (Masonry unit = concrete block)https://shop.standards.ie/en-ie/standards/i-s-en-771-3-2011-a1-2015-870940_saig_nsai_nsai_2983456/
NSAI I.S. EN 12620:2002+A1:2008 - Aggregates for concretehttps://shop.standards.ie/en-ie/standards/i-s-en-12620-2002-a1-2008-858169_saig_nsai_nsai_2983694/
2017 Report of Expert Working Group on Defective Concrete Blockshttps://assets.gov.ie/100218/78fd81fe-ab44-441b-ba10-6a9df4434c48.pdf   Answer to Pádraig Mac Lochlainn's question asking who is on the panel that designed IS.465https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-07-07/163
Dr Andreas Leeman's talk - " The mica crisis in Donegal - a case of internal sulphate attack"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXyP-xbe-20&t=19711s
Robbie Goodhue's talk "Water in masonry concrete"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXyP-xbe-20&t=23041s
RTÉ Radio 1 This Week interview by Angus Cox of engineer, Aidan O'Connellhttps://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22089005/
Highland Radio interview with Cllr Martin McDermotthttps://highlandradio.com/2022/11/09/defective-concrete-blocks-redress-process-set-to-move-again/
Greg Hughes Nine til Noon Show in Brussels with MEP Luke Ming Flanaganhttps://youtu.be/YNokfbw0ox0?t=1141
Profile of Peter Sweetman by Mick Clifford in the Irish Examinerhttps://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-40806339.html