Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister, I thank everybody who has participated in the debate. There has been a wide and strong interest in this issue, particularly from Deputies on all sides of the House who know from their constituents of the awful trauma that has arisen for people who suffered from pyrite in their homes. I know that this problem has been continuing for a number of years. I also wish to acknowledge the difficulties for the households themselves and the extremely stressful situation they have had to endure over a long period of time. Deputies have also acknowledged that the primary responsibility for this problem does not rest with any government, but with faults that happened within the industry. It is very much related to a period in the history of our country when the activities that went on in the construction industry left an awful lot to be desired. We have many legacy issues now, including pyrite, Priory Hall and unfinished estates, all of which we are addressing in one way or another. The Minister has been able to announce Government decisions on Priory Hall and on the pyrite issue, and that is the reason for this Bill today. Under my responsibility in the Department, we are working through the issues of unfinished housing estates, and we are making progress in that respect as well.

It has been acknowledged in the debate that no action was taken up until the time this Government took over. It has been a slow process. Everybody acknowledgers the complexity of it, the fact that there are issues involved, and the fact that there were different bodies that had to be engaged with. I know officials from our own Department put in much work to engage with the complexities of the issue, consulting with a variety of interests. Deputy Flanagan just referred to the insurance industry, and that industry's response proved to be very disappointing. There were legal issues that had to be addressed. However, we are in a position today where we have a Bill before us that addresses the problem and that has Government support. I welcome the fact that Members are very supportive of the issue, although I understand that they will want to tease out certain issues on Committee Stage, which is coming in the very near future.

The people living in houses affected by pyrite want to see a practical resolution to their problems, so that they could back to living a normal life that the rest of us assume we can have in our homes that have not been affected by pyrite or by any other of the legacy issues of the Celtic tiger, and that is the intention of this legislation and the Government. Putting this legislation on the Statute Book will allow us to implement the recommendations that were made, to set up the board and establish the process that continues from there. As we are able to bring the legislation forward, we will be able to move forward with the follow up from that.

A number of questions were asked about the timeframe and so on. I am sure that the Minister will address those in the debate on Committee Stage. It is also important to point out there is not always an immediate and obvious solution to problems in cases like this. It first needed a focused examination, followed by focused action on behalf of the Government. That will now be put in place.

I would particularly like to pay tribute to Deputies and former Deputies. I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Helen McEntee here. I know that her father pressed very strongly on the Government the need to resolve this issue, and I think it is appropriate that she is here today for this Bill to see that progress has been made. I would also like to acknowledge the role that has been played by other bodies that engaged in the process. I hope that we will now see progress in the very near future that will address the difficult problems that people have had to tolerate in their homes.

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