Donegal's Layla Doherty will highlight mica issues at Miss Earth 2023 pageant
Crowned Miss Earth Ireland 2023 earlier in the year, Ballyliffin native Layla Doherty will represent Ireland at the at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Friday
Donegal’s Layal Doherty will use the Miss Earth 2023 pageant in Vietnam to highlight the issue of defective mica blocks.
Crowned Miss Earth Ireland 2023 earlier in the year, the Ballyliffin native, 22, will represent Ireland at the at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.
"They start to look like settling cracks and over time they deteriorate into massive holes in the walls and the blocks can only be described as Weetabix,” the Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Science at ATU Donegal told RTÉ.
"At the minute, the Mica Action Group is trying to fight for a 100% redress scheme because this wasn't our fault and no one can afford the price of a new house.
"With the current scheme and cost of living, families in Donegal are still left having to pay thousands of euros to fix and slow down their crumbling homes. It’s a very frustrating and upsetting situation to be in.
"When I have such an amazing platform, I will give it to the people that have done nothing but back and support me. I come from the best community in the whole wide world and it is their determination and courage that has inspired me the whole way through."