Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I want to make it clear at the outset that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has no regulatory or oversight role in this specific area. The Financial Services Ombudsman is the statutory authority with responsibility for dealing with these complaints, and I would encourage home owners with a complaint about refusal of household insurance cover to contact that office.

Home owners who have had their homes remediated have been through a difficult and stressful process. However, following completion of remediation works and certification that their homes have been fully remediated in accordance with best practice, it now appears that they are being presented with a further obstacle. While I do not know the extent of the problem it is unacceptable, even if it is only happening to a small number of people, and is a cause of concern. I do not understand the basis on which an insurance company would refuse home insurance for dwellings which have had pyrite remediation works undertaken involving the removal of the pyritic material and the works having been certified as being removed.

The pyrite panel stated in its report that it had been made aware that some home owners faced difficulties in obtaining insurance and in some cases were being refused cover, even in cases where the dwelling had been remediated and all the pyritic material removed. The panel considers this practice to be unacceptable and both the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and I agree with that view. One of the recommendations in the pyrite panel report which deals with home insurance issues recommends that the insurance industry should remove any additional restrictions on dwellings that have been certified as having the pyritic material removed and that standard household insurance cover should not be withheld for dwellings specifically affected by pyrite.

In correspondence with the Irish Insurance Federation, IIF, in October 2012, the Minister, Deputy Hogan, indicated that he would be seeking its engagement in advancing the recommendations in the pyrite panel report dealing with general and home insurance issues. He also raised with it the issue of refusal of insurance to home owners who lived in estates where pyrite might be a problem but whose own dwelling may not be affected. In its response the federation indicated its willingness to engage with the Minister. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will be pursuing this matter shortly with the IIF and the appropriate regulatory body.

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