I propose to take Questions Nos. 409, 419, 421 and 422 together.
I met with the Construction Industry Federation, the Irish Concrete Federation, the Irish Insurance Federation, HomeBond and the Irish Banking Federation in July and outlined to them the central role I considered they could play in providing a solution to the pyrite problem. All parties have now submitted their responses to my request for proposals for a voluntary industry led solution for homeowners. The responses are now being evaluated and, together with the relevant recommendations in the pyrite report will inform the development of proposals which will provide for a solution to the pyrite problem.
The Pyrite Panel undertook a desktop study, in conjunction with stakeholder consultation, to establish facts in relation to the potential exposure to pyrite problems. The information was gathered from a number of sources including local authorities, structural guarantee providers, representatives of homeowners, private builders, construction professionals and public representatives and was cross referenced to verify, as far as practicable, its validity. According to the report, approximately 850 dwellings had a claim with a guarantee provider at March 2012. However, it should be noted that not all those claims had been verified. The Pyrite Panel recommended the categorisation of dwellings as a mechanism to determine suitable remediation approaches for pyrite affected dwellings.
It further recommended that dwellings categorised as “red” should be remediated immediately and dwellings categorised as amber, where there is no significant pyrite related damage, should be monitored and only remediated if significant damage occurs. I believe the methodology for remediation recommended by the Pyrite Panel offers a pragmatic and sensible approach. The remediation of dwellings is an expensive and disruptive process and I agree with the view expressed by the Panel that it would be unreasonable to remediate dwellings if they are not exhibiting pyrite related damage.
The testing and categorisation protocol, currently under development by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), will address the issue of the assessment of damage and the appropriate method for monitoring the amber category.
My Department has set up a dedicated email address, pyriteinformation@environ.ie, for dealing with pyrite related queries.