Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I will concentrate on two aspects of the Private Members' motion tonight. I thank the United Left Alliance for putting it together, particularly Deputy Clare Daly. It is a motion on which I could speak for a long time but my time is limited and that is why I will concentrate on two areas.

The appalling thing about the pyrite issue is that it was avoidable. If there had been proper regulation, the crisis could have been largely avoided. If a house were built today, however, it could present with the same problems because we have not addressed the problem in the interim. Major suppliers are still unsure whether their products meet the required standards. At best guidance is vague. There is no excuse for not doing anything, even in the interim, about putting in place standards so no one else must suffer the same consequences as those who have bought homes with pyrite in them. Many builders used low grade aggregates in the foundations to save money but there was good quality rock available. There is evidence that the low quality of the rock has contributed significantly to the problem.

Unfortunately those who are worst affected by this are mostly young people who bought their first homes for multiples of the current value and in many cases they have young families. This is very stressful for them. Home owners with pyrite have been let down in a number of ways. The were no standards for the materials used, there are professional experts who now deny pyrite ever existed anywhere else and there was a failure of self-regulation instead of rigorous oversight carried out by independent bodies. HomeBond gave people an expectation that if everything else was wrong, its insurance would take responsibility but we now know HomeBond is washing its hands and pointing to failure at quarry level. All of this has happened while the innocent parties in this are watching their homes falling apart around them with no plan of action. I accept the pyrite panel has been put in place and acknowledge the role played by the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, in that.

A constituent of mine sent me a report on pyrite in his house. It stated that pyrite in the infill undergoes a chemical reaction to heat, moisture and the presence of calcium and oxygen. These conditions, the report continues, are likely to occur under the floor slab and the resulting chemical reaction causes the stone infill to expand, which creates an increased volume leading to upward pressure that causes solid concrete floor slabs to heave upwards, applying pressure directly on to load bearing and partition walls. The distorted doorways and cracking of internal partition walls are caused by timber stud walls being distorted by the upward pressure from the heaving floor.

People are sitting in the full knowledge this is happening to the biggest investment they will ever make in their lives. While pyrite does not have a direct impact on people's health, it certainly has a direct impact on their well-being, leading to extremely stressful living conditions. The stress caused to them while they watch their homes disintegrate around them is obvious to anyone who has visited them. They can show cracks and holes in the walls and warped floors. It is unacceptable that the situation is continuing. These people have unsustainable mortgages on homes that are now worthless. Myself and others have met the pyrite panel on a couple of occasions and I know it is due to report in the next few weeks. It would be useful if the Minister could indicate when that report will be published.

The people at fault in this must pay - the construction sector. A management component must be put in place for the remediation of affected properties but the remediation must start in 2012 with a fixed timetable. The work must be done to such a standard that lending institutions will not refuse lending and insurance companies will not refuse to insure the properties. This problem cannot wait any longer because the longer it takes, the worse the damage. We must learn from our mistakes and stop picking up the pieces left by rogue elements of the construction sector.

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