Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Keyes for his presentation. By the looks of it Mr. Keyes' qualifications are very strong. I did not know if Mr. Keyes had another job apart from all the different roles he has. There is a lot there and chairing all of these committees and so on would be very challenging.

I am curious about a number of aspects. Are there any plans for the Pyrite Resolution Board to look at the mica issue? This has been a concern, especially in the Donegal area. We need to look at whether the board's remit can be expanded. Time without number we have been refused by the Department in trying to deal with this major issue. Perhaps Mr. Keyes could fill the committee in on that.

A lot of the pyrite problems were mainly confined to the more northern region of the State and we can clearly define those areas. Is there a plan to expand on those areas? Outside of those regions we are discovering that pyrite issues are also to be found in the west and a small number of other areas. I have visited many of the sites and it is a traumatic matter for anyone to have to deal with. Even though it is roughly a two to three month period while they are out of their homes, it is very challenging for many people.

We speak of the subject in terms of private houses, but there are also many local authority tenants dealing with the same problem, who could number more than those we are currently discussing. In my area Ballymun, Finglas, Swords and Ashbourne present major problems in this regard. Will the Pyrite Resolution Board have a role in dealing with public housing? How will it interact with those people?

I am not sure if Mr. Keyes' role as the chairman of the board, if he is appointed to it, will be a paid role. I assume he can tell the committee if it is a paid role. I have found that one of the biggest factors for affected people when it came to the whole process was the procuring engineers and also the associated the costs. They found it very difficult and some people had to pay between €2,000 and €5,000. It was very messy. Maybe this process could be looked at to see if it could better help people. From speaking with people who have been affected this aspect was really getting to them.

When we look at the amount that has been remediated since the board was set up, I believe we have been a bit slow. The flagging process means that the lesser affected houses have been left behind to deteriorate as time goes on. This needs to be looked at also to see if the process can be speeded up.