Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy McEntee for allowing me to share time with him on this important issue. In October 2007 I called on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to immediately set up a task force to tackle this urgent situation. However, the Minister took no action. He stated he would have his Department audit all quarries in the country to ascertain whether pyrite is present in the stone being used in the infill for housing. However, no report was issued on the matter. It is believed that between 2003 and February 2007 more than 2 million tonnes of stone were taken from the Irish Asphalt Limited quarry located in Bay Lane, County Dublin. To date only 100,000 tonnes or 5% of the material extracted has been traced back to the buildings and other infrastructure on which the material was used. What happened to the other 95% of that material? What happened in all the other quarries given that pyrite has turned up in various houses and various infrastructure projects including the Dublin Port tunnel and apparently also in the M3 in County Meath?

Pyrite has been detected in many developments in my constituency, Dublin North-East, in Deputy Reilly's constituency, Dublin North, and in Deputy McEntee's constituency, Meath East. As up to 20,000 homes have been affected, this is a national issue. The Government needs to wake up and deal with it head on. The Minister claimed he had no responsibility in this area yet he got the National Standards Authority of Ireland to publish additional guidance protocols for testing under-floor infill material. He is awaiting further technical guidance documentation from the European Commission. He strengthened the enforcement powers given to building control authorities after 1 March 2008. However, that is of no benefit to those householders who now find themselves in extreme difficulty where the walls and floors in their homes are cracked. Many of them are in a difficult enough position being in negative equity, but to find that the physical buildings around them are unsafe is beneath contempt.

We want the Minister to immediately close down the quarries that are dishing out this defective infill material and to set up a task force and a fund to help these house owners who find themselves in extreme difficulty through no fault of their own.

See this speech in context