Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
814. Deputy Paschal Donohoe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if persons who own homes affected by pyrite and already have had testing and visual assessments of their homes undertaken will have to get additional testing carried out in order to avail of property tax exemption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16952/13]
View answerRegulations are currently being finalised in my Department which will set out the methodology for the assessment of dwellings in order to establish significant pyritic damage for the purpose of being exempt from the local property tax (LPT). It is anticipated that these regulations will be published shortly.
The primary route for homeowners to demonstrate significant pyritic damage will be in accordance with the recently published standard by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, IS 398 – Reactive Pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material – Part 1. This standard provides guidance on the building condition assessment, sampling and testing to be carried out to establish the presence of significant pyritic damage.
To be eligible for an exemption from the LPT, a homeowner must obtain a certificate, from a competent person, confirming the presence of significant pyritic damage on the basis of a building condition assessment and the outcome of the testing and classification of the sub-floor hardcore material.
Conscious of the need to reduce costs to affected homeowners, I am making provision in the regulations for the use, where it is feasible to do so, of test results from sampling and testing undertaken to classify the hardcore material prior to the publication of I.S. 398-1:2013. However, a building condition assessment will be required to be carried out by a competent person if it has not already been carried out.
