Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Keyes appears to be eminently qualified. I echo the Senator O'Connor's remark that that Mr. Keyes seems to be a very busy man indeed. As part of the new role - if I can be presumptuous - are there plans to assist people practically who have, for example, grade 1 pyrite in their homes? I have looked at this issue and I have been in contact with a lot of families in Lusk and Rush especially. They have grade 1 pyrite and we can see that in many instances it can lead to grade 2 and to remediation being necessary. Would Mr. Keyes see the board as having a role in communicating with those people? Currently they are feeling a bit lost. They know they have some pyrite but not quite enough to be as bad as their neighbours, for example, who may be getting remediated. Their houses have not enough pyrite for remediation but these people can see that it is going to go in that direction. I am interested to hear Mr. Keyes' views on that.

Consider the case where there are three or four houses in a row in a terrace and the first, second and fourth houses are owner occupied but the third is rented. The first, second and fourth houses are being remediated but for some reason the third is not. Would the Pyrite Resolution Board have a role in communicating with the house in the middle? The people on either side would get their dwellings remediated and they fear that the person in the middle would not. In the context of Mr. Keyes' role as chairman of the board, does he believe that there could be more communication? People feel they have been left out of the loop and that the board has not been very proactive. People affected by pyrite feel that those involved in the process have not been very approachable and that there has been insufficient action in this regard.

I will now turn to the issue of the engineers, which deeply concerns me. It is, of course, necessary to get an engineer's report. Constituents have told me that where they have initially engaged an engineer the cost was €1,800 to €2,000. When it becomes apparent that there is more business the costs then go up. People were paying under €2,000 at the beginning of the process but at the end, when the entire housing estate is looking for engineers, they found the price was going up. Would Mr. Keyes have a view on whether he would seek powers or have powers to help those in that situation? They must get the engineer's report because they must find out the extent of any damage. At the back of all of this are people who bought their houses in good faith and who, like me or anyone else, would not be able to tell that there was a problem on the day they walked in to their houses. They could not have known and it is not their fault but unfortunately, they are left with the consequences. I appreciate that funding is important but there are many people who find themselves in a limbo in this respect and who would like to see the chairman and the board reaching out to them to try to bring them into the process a little more. They currently do not feel part of it.