A father from Co Mayo has described how two of his children are "worried sick" that their rooms will fall down due to issues with pyrite.
It comes as a number of families in the area have appealed a decision by the local council to reject their applications for the Defective Concrete Blocks redress scheme.
Ballina man and father of four Duane Helly is one of those who has had his application refused, despite his home testing positive for pyrite.
The local county council informed him the home wasn't impacted enough to be eligible for the scheme.
Duane The Pat Kenny Show he can't understand why his application was turned down.
He explained he bought the house in around 2006 - around five years after it was built - but has always had to fill in cracks around the place.
He said: "We never thought anything of it.
"It was only last year when neighbours of mine here tested positive for pyrite... then we heard there's only 'x' amount in this budget for the redress. We kind of panicked a little bit."
The house has since been tested for pyrite, with analysis showing the house is indeed impacted by significant structural issues.
He said: "The cracks are prominent.
"We painted the inside of the house about six or seven months ago... even now, the hairline cracks are starting to appear through the paint again.
"I have four kids here now - aged ten, eight, four and two. Some of them are afraid to enter rooms in the house, as they see cracks above their bed or in the bathrooms.
"My main concern is my wife and kids and their safety and wellbeing... I have two kids that are worried sick their rooms are going to fall down while they sleep.
"I'm trying to comfort them and reassure them that it's not that bad yet... but I don't know if it's going to be OK."
"We've done everything"
Neighbours have been accepted into the scheme, but Duane and his family have had to "beg and plead" to be added as well.
He said they have gone through all the necessary hoops, including getting a structural engineer down to prepare the report.
The family received a rejection letter for the scheme three weeks ago - surprising both Duane and the engineer.
The main reason given was there was no significant pattern cracking in the building.
However, Duane says he can clearly see the visible cracks around the house - and suggested the rejection reason "contradicts" the structural engineers' report.
He and his family aren't alone, with over a dozen others in the area having received a similar rejection.
Duane said the structural engineer has recommended "complete demolition and rebuild" of the house due to uncertainty over where exactly the pyrite blocks are.
For now, however, Duane is in the process of appealing.
He said: "We've done everything... and it still seemed to be no good.
"It's hard to wrap your head around it.
"We paid the experts to look at the house... it confirmed what we all thought. But the powers-that-be don't seem to take into consideration the experts on this matter."
Council statement
Mayo County Council says it administers the scheme on behalf of the Department of Housing.
A spokesperson says the council understands the stress and trauma that impacted householders have had.
They said applications in a number of cases did not meet the eligibility of the scheme.
99 applications have been received - 74 have been approved, five require further detail, and in 20 applications the council was "unable to confirm eligibility under the scheme".
