Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I am again demanding a commission of investigation into all aspects of the planning, building regulation and development of the North Fringe new urban district stretching from Clonshaugh to Baldoyle in the Dublin North-East constituency. I have been again contacted by young householders in the Clongriffin district of the North Fringe who have been asked to sign contracts with one of the builders of their estate, Killoe Developments, for the repair of their pyrite-damaged homes on less favourable terms than were previously on offer. Killoe Developments has yet to repair 156 out the 157 pyrite affected homes and apartments built by it in Clongriffin. Members will recall, from approximately six earlier debates in the 30th Dáil initiated by me in regard to this matter, that pyrites is an iron sulphide which expands if exposed to air or water. Infill flooring materials containing too high levels of pyrite were used in a number of estates in the North Fringe, including Clongriffin, the Coast and elsewhere in the north Dublin and Leinster regions. Sources in the construction industry have informed me that at least 60,000 residential units built during the property bubble in 2001-02 may be infected by this disastrous pyrite infill at a replacement cost of approximately €20 billion.

As the months go by more and more new estates are testing for pyrite contamination, most recently a new seniors development at Clancarthy in Donnycarney and apartments at Northwood in Santry, north Dublin. The pyrite scandal is becoming the biggest disaster in the history of Irish construction. A few weeks ago Clongriffin DART station finally opened, nearly five years late, and the redesign of our existing Fr. Collins Park in Donaghmede-Clongriffin has won universal approval. However, huge tracts of the North Fringe remain derelict wasteland with major public service deficits. Former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and current Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, have steadfastly refused my constant appeal since 1999-2000 to make the North Fringe a strategic development zone. In the North Fringe, across from Clare Hall, Belmayne, Clongriffin, Stapolin and the Coast up to 2,000 housing units remain vacant or at the derelict foundation stage.

The pyrites disaster has been compounded by the collapse of the agreement between Stanley Holdings and Dublin City Council to develop the vacant 9.3 hectare town square site in Clare Hall and the ongoing serious insulation and noise problems in Belmayne. Unbelievable planning and fire safety problems also arose last year in the Priory Hall estate of the North Fringe with Dublin City Council, on the advice of the chief fire officer, having to move 16 tenancy households out of the district for their own safety. Last autumn, I raised grave concerns in this House about fire safety at Priory Hall and in particular the RAS tenants, private tenants and unfortunate young owners of properties in the 187 apartment complex.

On my proposal as a city councillor in 2005, city manager John Fitzgerald established the North Fringe Forum which will meet next Tuesday. However, that body is basically a quarterly talking shop for stakeholders. The key responsibility for the unfolding planning and regulatory mess in the North Fringe rests with the Minister, Deputy Gormley, city manager, Mr. John Tierney and his predecessor Mr. John Fitzgerald, Fingal county manager, Mr. David O'Connor and his predecessor, Mr. John Tierney. The Minister has flatly refused to order a full traceability audit of the 2 million or more tonnes of infill used by the pyrite affected quarry at Bayview, Ballycoolin owned by the Irish Asphalt division of the Lagan Group. Only 5% of this aggregate has been accounted for so far. The Minister, Deputy Gormley, and his Department have also failed to audit other Leinster quarries allegedly affected. The Minister has also failed to establish a pyrite monitoring and investigation agency on the lines of that developed in Quebec province in Canada which suffered a similar widespread disaster. Most of all, the Minister and the Dublin and Fingal managers have failed abysmally to implement the building regulations and planning laws or to order any investigation of continuing failures in this regard.

The Minister and Government refuse to take any action to assist young householders suffering terrible anxiety in regard to their mortgage investments. These young people are being callously left to fend for themselves. This Government does not give a damn. What is now needed is a commission of investigation under the 2004 Act, introduced by former Minister and Deputy, Mr. McDowell, into all aspects of the North Fringe with a brief to identify all of those responsible for the disaster and to make urgent recommendations for the full repair and completion of the North Fringe urban region.

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, would like to thank Deputy Broughan for raising this important matter which was also addressed in a parliamentary question on 20 April 2010.

Specific responsibility for the planning and delivery of the North Fringe development rests with the local authorities involved, Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. The North Fringe Framework Development Plan, which was prepared by Dublin City Council in 2000, sets out the objectives for the area, the site context and the urban design framework. The plan emphasises the need for a quality bus service and the provision of community facilities, including schools, a library, sports facilities and public spaces, which will serve the anticipated 30,000 people who will ultimately live in the area. Planning permissions in the North Fringe have been granted in line with the framework plan.

While the overall roll-out and timing of these private developments is guided by the demand for housing and other market forces, it is clear that the provision of the community facilities mentioned, in tandem with the housing development, is seen as key in the development of the area. In this regard the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government understands that a North Fringe cross-authority agency forum has been established to monitor progress in the North Fringe. Membership includes senior officials from the two councils, representatives of local residents' groups and from statutory bodies such as the HSE, the Department of Education and Skills, the Garda Síochána and public transport providers.

The national building regulations set out the legal requirements for the design and construction of new buildings, including houses, extensions and material alterations and certain changes of use of existing buildings. The related technical guidance documents provide technical guidance on how to comply with the regulations.

Compliance with the regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building. Enforcement of the regulations is the responsibility of the 37 local building control authorities who are empowered to carry out inspections and initiate enforcement proceedings, where considered necessary. The resolution of problems arising between building owners and builders is a matter for the parties concerned, namely the building owner, the relevant developer and the builder's insurers. Where the construction of a building is the subject of a contract between the client and the builder, enforcement is a civil matter.

The Minister has, on a number of occasions, addressed the position regarding the use of pyrite in house construction. It is worth re-stating that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government acted very promptly once this issue was brought to its attention in mid-2007. It brought the matter to the attention of all building control authorities and requested co-operation in the enforcement of the relevant requirements. The Department has incorporated a National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, new amended standard recommendation on the use of aggregates as infill for civil engineering and road construction work into the relevant technical guidance document of the building regulations. The Department also notified all key stakeholders of the provisions of the amended technical guidance document.

Similarly, the position in regard to fire safety concerns at an apartment complex was set out in reply to an Adjournment Debate matter on 8 December 2009. Compliance with the building regulations is kept under constant review by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister expects to receive shortly, from the Building Regulations Advisory Body, established under the 1990 Building Control Act to advise him on matters relating to building regulations, a report on enforcement of the regulations. It is anticipated that this will be an important input to his Department's ongoing consideration of the building regulations regime.