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Pyrite Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 May 2014

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Ceisteanna (523)

Clare Daly

Ceist:

523. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the options open to home owners who have spent thousands of euros on pyrite reports, which have confirmed the presence of pyrite, but the damage is not sufficient to be covered by the scheme or remediated by their insurer, and, therefore, the house is unable to be sold, unable to achieve a green certificate and in may ways the home owners are in the worst of all worlds. [22331/14]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am acutely aware of the difficult and distressing situation faced by many homeowners who have been affected by pyritic heave and it was against this background that I set up the independent Pyrite Panel in September 2011 to identify solutions for a resolution to the pyrite problem. In its report the Pyrite Panel recommended that only dwellings with significant damage due to pyritic heave should be remediated. It also recommended that dwellings which have no significant damage but have reactive pyrite in the hardcore should be monitored and only remediated if they display significant damage due to pyritic heave.

On 29 January 2013, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) published I.S. 398 – Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material. Part 1 of that standard provides accurate and reliable protocols to determine whether or not a dwelling is or may be affected by reactive pyrite in the sub-floor hardcore material and gives clear guidance on the process and procedures to be followed in order to determine if a dwelling should be remediated or monitored.

The pyrite remediation scheme, which was published by the Pyrite Resolution Board in February of 2014, was developed having regard to the recommendations set out in the Report of the Pyrite Panel. The scheme is one of “last resort” and only applies to dwellings which are subject to significant damage attributable to pyritic heave established in accordance with I.S. 398-1. In addition, applicants must be able to demonstrate to the Pyrite Resolution Board that they have no practicable options other than under the scheme to secure the remediation of their dwellings.

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