Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputies will have to forgive me; I am out of breath, because I ran from the Department of the Taoiseach to be here. I thank the Acting Chairman. To say I am delighted to be speaking on this legislation and seeing it before the Dáil is possibly the biggest understatement of the year. The legislation means so much to so many people who have put up with pyrite for so many years in what can only be described as an absolute nightmare, and it will finally mean an end is in sight for the problem. As I am sure everybody knows, this legislation is personally important to me, as my dad became involved in the issue very early in his Dáil career. I hope the Minister does not mind me saying that it is only because of him that we are here today and that it has got this far. It could not be any more fitting that we are debating the Bill today and tomorrow, which is his birthday. It all ties together well.

I remember that when I came home from college one weekend some years ago, before I started working with my dad, he told me he had visited a young man's house that was affected by pyrite, and he explained what pyrite was, how it was in the infill material and what damage it did. He told me he could almost fit his hand in the crack in the exterior wall of this man's house and I could not believe what he said. The problem seemed to grow legs afterwards, and although the issue was raised in the Dáil by my dad, unfortunately Fine Gael was not in power at the time and the Government did not want to know about it. For s living with the problem at the time, that was unacceptable, and we are in our current position - with issues such as Priory Hall, as well as other similar cases - because of poor enforcement of building regulations. Essentially, there was self-regulation, which did not work. People needed to step up to the plate at the time but, unfortunately, as the economy was booming, this was not a priority.

It must be said that there are builders, contractors, subcontractors and some quarries that have come up to the mark on this issue. They have not walked away from the people who bought these homes or turned their backs on people who put their trust in them. These people are fixing the affected homes, either with their own money or through insurance from companies that are paying out because of partial responsibility. It is not easy to place the blame on one party, but the people who are trying to help should be commended. On the other hand, there are builders, contractors, insurers and banks that have walked away from their responsibility completely, leaving the affected people high and dry. I really do not know how these people sleep at night, because nobody would want to find him- or herself in this position. Everybody was given an opportunity to be part of the solution but, unfortunately, not everybody decided to take part. That is why this important piece of legislation is needed and why we are here today.

It is a very positive piece of legislation. Although I will not go through every section, there are some items to be noted. I welcome the fact that the resolution board, along with the Housing Agency and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, are being given the responsibility of putting together this scheme which they feel will address the problem in the most appropriate manner. It will give them scope to use their knowledge in the best possible manner and make judgments in order to roll out the scheme as efficiently as possible.

I welcome the inclusion of category 1 with progression in the category of significant pyritic damage. Many people have been very concerned about the possibility that in order to get into this category their homes would have to have a damage rating of 2. This provides much clarity and gives the board the scope to see how it can roll this out. I welcome the fact that each financial year, the Minister, with the board, can make a grant to the housing association which can be used for implementation of the remediation scheme. It provides clarity on the fact that there is no time limit; when people require this help, it will be there. Section 12 refers to gifts, but are these likely to come from people in the industry? Does this relate to offers to provide assistance with no gain for themselves?

Overall, the legislation is very clear in what it sets out. I realise we could not include the people who have already fixed their homes.

Perhaps we might examine that issue later. Obviously, the people concerned are in the same boat as those who have not fixed their homes at this point.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, and his Department. There are many people who have put a lot of work into this legislation and gone beyond the call of duty. I include the Minister and his staff in that regard. I also include the staff of the Pyrite Resolution Board who have done a lot of work to date. I could not be happier for the s and all those involved in Pyrite Action. What has occurred is an early Christmas present and I really look forward to the first application being accepted in January.

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