Two courageous lady Councillors tell the truth.

The following letter was published in the Mourne Observer on January 14th 1998;

"Dear Sir,

It was in September 1997 that Mr. Gerry Rice first threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to give an opinion on the use of Terralux Blocks in houses built almost thirty years ago. Needless to say, in September my acquaintance with the properties of building materials was limited to say the least, but I decided to take up the gauntlet nonetheless, and in the three months since then I have learned quite a lot about Terralux blocks.
I began by contacting independent experts in the fields of Building Control and the law. Mr. Rice was kind enough to give me access to all his own files and documentation on the case in question.
In the opinion of these independent experts, Terralux blocks should never have been used in the building of houses, particularly in load-bearing walls, or in fireplaces. Terralux are cellular, porous blocks through which smoke and/or gases will without a doubt permeate, and if Terralux blocks are used in fireplaces, unless the inner-leaf dividing walls are more than one inch in thickness, these will invade the adjoining house.

Over twenty years ago Mr. Rice found himself in just this situation, with smoke invading his home from the house next door. After Mr. Rice first complained about this problem, umpteen inspections were made on his property to decide whether or not smoke was in fact coming into his home from his neighbour's house. Such a protracted investigation would be enough to drive anyone to distraction, particularly when it should have been obvious that a chimney breast constructed of Terralux blocks would be certain to behave in the way described by Mr. Rice and his family, and that smoke would leak from one flue to another.

Whilst none of the experts I consulted was prepared to say that the use of Terralux blocks was illegal almost thirty years ago, it is fairly obvious even to a layman, that such a material was never suitable for use in fireplaces. We can only speculate about the reasons for their use by builders at that time. I have been told that they were used in thousands of homes in those years.

In June 1979 the Commissioner for Complaints (N.I.) in his judgement on the case found that Mr. Rice did not sustain injustice in consequence of maladministration by Down District Council in relation to his complaint. An initial report had found in his favour, but this was overturned after the Conservatives came to power in May 1979.

While legally the judgement went against Mr. Rice, morally it is plain that there was a case to answer. In human terms this family has suffered immeasurably because of the prevailing approach to building in the 1970's.

In the end Mr. Rice and his family lost their home as a result of this battle, and he continues to fight for justice to this day.

In the age of apologies for Changi Jail and Bloody Sunday, perhaps Mr. Rice may yet receive a belated apology from the successors of those who first gave rise to his misfortune.

He knows that I have promised to help him in every way I can.

Carmel O'Boyle, BA PGCE MA. SDLP Down District Councillor"

The following week Councillor Anne Carr, a member of the Women's Coalition Party put the following letter in the Mourne Observer:

"Sir,

May I concur totally with the sentiments of Cllr O'Boyle in relation to the suffering which has been inflicted on Mr. Gerry Rice and his family over 21 long years because he dared to challenge the use of Terralux Blocks in his home.
I have also read with great interest the detailed documentation which Mr. Rice has gathered over the years and although I have asked many questions of a variety of so-called 'informed' people in this field, none is prepared to say that the use of these blocks 30 years ago was illegal.
Common sense though would tell even the naïve, that cellular, porous blocks would not be the best choice for the construction of chimney breasts and that smoke and dangerous gases were bound to find their way through.

The reality of the current situation is that Gerry Rice and his family have lost their home and have been forced to live in mobile accommodation for all these years.
The dignity with which they have carried on, raised their children and fought for nothing more than truth and justice is to be admired by us all.

Gerry and his family should certainly be granted the necessary apologies without delay, but more than that they must be given the support to explore all avenues which could in some way help to financially compensate them for their untold suffering.

Anne Carr (Councillor)"