Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Phelan on an excellent contribution and her article in The Irish Times of yesterday. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of radon gas and the property tax. Houses that have been affected by radon should be exempt from the property tax. To support my argument I have permission to read into the record the following letter I have received from a constituent:

In this paragraph I will give you a brief outline of my own personal situation with radon, a similar situation having been endured by some of my neighbours.


In August 2007 my wife was diagnosed with lung cancer...She had been a smoker for many years but was off them since January 2000. We were aware that houses in the area were affected by radon gas and the type of cancer contracted by my wife can be attributed directly to radon so we decided to get our house tested. We began testing in December 2007 with a kit provided to us by the RPII...In March 2008 we returned the detectors to the RPII and the readings came back excessively high...After getting advice from the RPII I called in an expert to carry out remediation work on the house and he told me it would cost 3,000 euro. As I am a tradesman I carried out the remediation work myself with help from the RPII at a cost to myself of 750 euro (the work involved included the coring of 2x4 inch holes, one at each gable to go under the floor of the house and 2 fans and associated pipework fitted to evacuate the gas and create negative pressure so the gas would no longer leak into the house.) We then commenced a re-test in April 2008 and the results came back July 2008...In 2012 we carried out another re-test to ensure our fans were working properly and they were...It is costing on average approximately 290 euro per year to run the 2 fans...and approximately 140 euro each to replace every 3.5 years. (I also wish to include that my wife passed away in March 2010 from the cancer she contracted, age 44).


As can be seen from the above I am in a predicament:1. I have a cancer causing gas under my house which is not going away.

2. I have fairly hefty costs associated with keeping this poisonous gas out of my house.

3. My house, as is every other house affected by radon in this country, is effectively worthless not unlike the people affected by pyrite, so I ask you how can I put a value on a house that is unsaleable for the purpose of the property tax as nobody would buy it because of the risks associated with living in it?

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