Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I raise an issue which is close to my heart, as my own home was affected by the issue and remediated three years ago. I have thankfully not had difficulty in obtaining insurance, as the firm with which I have my mortgage is also my insurer and it would not be in its interest to refuse insurance. That is not the case for many hundreds of other properties right across north Leinster, from the fringe between Dublin and Fingal to Malahide, Swords, Rush, Lusk and as far away as Meath, Louth and parts of Kildare. The Pyrite Remediation Board has stated that as many as 12,000 properties are affected, of which only a portion will be remediated by the board and the Housing Agency. My aim is to bring to the attention of the Minister the difficulties property owners are having in obtaining quotes for home insurance policies to cover fire, theft and structural problems. Through no fault of their own, these people own properties which have pyrite. This is the case for more than 1,000 properties across north Leinster which have been remediated and many hundreds more which the Pyrite Remediation Board and the Housing Agency propose to remediate in the coming months and years.

Currently, there is no obligation for an insurance company to issue a quotation or insurance policy for home insurance, but when one considers that mortgage protection policies, which are often linked to home insurance policies, and similar policies are being refused, it is obvious that it is not in the public interest for this issue to be allowed to fester. I draw the attention of the Minister of State to the consumer protection code, which is administered by the Financial Services Ombudsman under the auspices of the Department of Finance, where Deputy Harris is Minister of State. An arrangement is in place whereby, in theory, if a policy is refused, the ombudsman can direct an insurance company to provide a quote. I would like to see us reaching agreement on this rather than having to go in with some sort of legislative response that might have unintended consequences. I draw the attention of the Minister of State to the voluntary code that exists in the motor insurance industry among the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Irish Insurance Federation and individual insurance companies. Over the last 30 years, they have agreed to a committee structure which acts an appeals mechanism. If an individual is refused three quotes, he or she may take the first quote to the committee, which will adjudicate on it. It may require the first company that refused insurance to provide a quote to the motor vehicle owner. I would like to see the creation of a similar system whereby a committee can be comprised of the individual insurance companies and, perhaps, the Financial Services Ombudsman, taking into account the consumer protection code. I would like to see the Department and perhaps even the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, head it up, as it is a matter related directly to housing, an area in which Deputy Coffey has a great deal of experience. The Department should convene a meeting with the relevant stakeholders, including the insurance companies, the Pyrite Remediation Board, the insurance federation and a number of Departments. Insurance falls under the remit of a number of Departments; it is not restricted to the housing area. The Department of Finance would be involved in any legislative changes that might need to be brought in. The aim is to ensure that homeowners who have had pyrite remediation carried out on their properties and, on paper at least, have no issue with the pyrite scourge that has befallen many properties across north Leinster have an option to insure their homes so that they are covered if something happens.

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