John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this matter and assure him no discourtesy was intended.

Pyrite is a mineral found in broken stone that oxidizes upon contact with moisture and oxygen to produce sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid causes the broken stone to swell, which in turn causes the floor slabs in buildings to lift and crack. Laboratory tests have found that pyrite exists in the infill stone material used beneath the houses in a number of housing estates in the Dublin-North fringe. This mineral has the effect of making the infill stone defective.

I understand from Fingal County Council that the builders or developers of the houses in question have undertaken tests and other investigations to establish the extent of the houses affected. I further understand that HomeBond, the national house building guarantee company, a private company which provides a ten year structural guarantee for new houses, of which the builders concerned are members, have also carried out investigations.

The national building regulations set out the legal requirements for the construction of new buildings, including houses, and extensions to and material alterations of existing buildings. The related technical guidance documents, TGDs, provide technical guidance on how to comply with the regulations.

For example, Part C and TGD-C set the legal requirements and technical guidance for site preparation and resistance to moisture. Regulation C3 stipulates:

The floors, walls and roof of a building shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the passage of moisture to the inside of the building or damage to the fabric of the building.

TGD-C also requires:

The hardcore bed should be at least 150 mm thick and should be of broken stones, broken brick or similar suitable material well compacted and clean and free from matter liable to cause damage to the concrete.

Under the provisions of the Building Control Act 1990, responsibility for compliance with the building regulations rests with the builder and the owner of a building.

Enforcement is a matter for the local building control authorities which are empowered to carry out inspections and initiate enforcement proceedings, when considered necessary. In this regard, I understand that the local building control authority, Fingal County Council, has been in direct contact with the builders and the quarry concerned to ascertain the full extent of the problem and to ensure there is no further use of this material for house building.

Having consulted the statutory building regulations advisory body on the matter, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on 16 August 2007, issued a circular letter, BC 6/2007, to each county manager and local building control authority with a view to bringing the issue to their notice and requesting their co-operation in the enforcement of the relevant requirements. This circular letter also brings to their attention a notice issued by Fingal County Council on 26 July 2007 on the matter.

I also understand that the National Standards Authority of Ireland is giving urgent consideration to publication of additional guidance on the issue of pyrite. This will, by way of a new national standard, amend an existing standard or a standard recommendation, whichever is considered most appropriate. It is my intention to adopt any recommendation of the NSAI in this regard, when available, in the relevant technical guidance document to the building regulations.

The Deputy suggested that a ministerial task force be set up to carry out a full traceability audit and establish a national pyrite investigation and monitoring agency. The actions I have outlined are designed to avoid any recurrence of the problem which has arisen in Fingal. Compensation is a matter between a homeowner, the relevant developer and the builder's insurer, whether that is HomeBond or another insurer. Consequently, the Minister has no function in this regard.

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