While I have no function in relation to the regulation or oversight of insurance providers or insurance based products, I am acutely aware of the upset and distress faced by many homeowners who have been affected by pyritic heave and am conscious that their difficulties have been exacerbated by the withdrawal of household insurance cover.
In this regard, I have recently written to Insurance Ireland, as the representative body for insurance providers operating in the Irish market, to encourage their members to re- consider their position on providing homeowners, whose homes have been remediated, with appropriate insurance cover where that is not already the case in the light of the range of measures that are now in place to mitigate against future risk of pyritic damage. I have also written to the Minister for Finance in this matter given his role for policy in respect of insurance.
All works under the pyrite remediation scheme will be completed to the requirements of the relevant standard, I.S. 398-2:2013 Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material — Part 2: Methodology for remediation works, and will be carried out by competent builders, overseen by construction professionals in accordance with the requirements of the Pyrite Resolution Board and the Housing Agency. There will also be oversight by construction professionals from within the Housing Agency itself to ensure that the works will be fully compliant with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations, that proper materials are used in the works and that remediated dwellings will be restored to the quality expected by the homeowners. At the end of the works, each homeowner will be provided with certification to confirm that their home has been remediated to the requirements of the relevant standard.
My Department is available to meet with Insurance Ireland to address any concerns their members may have and I will support any proposals put forward that provide the basis for a satisfactory resolution for homeowners on this issue.
