Dáil debates

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Other Questions

Pyrite Remediation Programme Implementation

10:00 am

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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5. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the progress of the pyrite remediation scheme; the targeted number of properties to be remediated in 2015; the cost of the project to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3603/15]

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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As the Minister will be aware, there are thousands of home owners whose dwellings are falling down around them because pyrite was used in the in-fill material. The pyrite remediation scheme established by the Government, while welcome, is making incredibly slow progress, with no houses remediated to date. How many houses will be remediated in 2015? Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient funding has been provided for remediation works? Does he have any plans to extend the scheme given that thousands of other home owners are precluded from applying to the Pyrite Resolution Board for remediation on the basis of their geographical location? These home owners have no prospect of having their homes remediated this year.

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Clare Daly for raising this important issue. The pyrite remediation scheme is a targeted initiative to assist a restricted group of home owners who have no other practical options to access redress. It is a scheme of last resort to repair homes affected by significant damage.

The pyrite remediation scheme involves a number of stages commencing with a validation process by the Pyrite Resolution Board to check each application for compliance with the scheme's eligibility criteria. This procedure is followed by a damage verification process carried out by the Housing Agency. The next stage involves a decision by the Pyrite Resolution Board on whether a dwelling will be included in or excluded from the scheme. Once a dwelling has been included in the scheme, tendering processes are arranged by the Housing Agency for the appointment of a design professional and works contractor for the preparation and execution of a remedial works plan in respect of the dwelling concerned.

The Deputy sought an update on the progress of the scheme. Since details of the scheme were published in February 2014, the Pyrite Resolution Board has received 627 completed applications. A total of 485 applications have been validated and forwarded to the Housing Agency for the verification stage. Of these, 295 have been approved by the board for inclusion in the scheme and applicants have been notified. A pilot project involving the remediation of five dwellings was completed in the latter half of 2014. The funds provided in respect of the pyrite remediation scheme in 2014 amounted to €2.2 million. Over the course of 2015, the board anticipates that remediation works will commence on projects comprising approximately 280 dwellings.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The problem of pyrite is a serious crisis. The pyrite remediation scheme is a last resort for a large number of home owners. As late as yesterday, I learned of a new estate in my constituency where the presence of pyrite has been verified for the first time. The Minister of State will also be aware that home owners in south Dublin, where pyrite has also been identified, are precluded from applying to the scheme. Houses in counties Donegal and Mayo are falling down because of problems with block works. This crisis has arisen through no fault of the home owners.

The Minister of State indicated that no houses have been remediated.

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Five homes have been remediated.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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That is as close to zero as-----

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The figure is five.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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He also stated that 280 homes will be remediated in 2015. Based on the figures provided, the budget for remediation works will be quickly gobbled up. A sum of €10 million was allocated for these works last year and again this year, with €2.2 million expended last year on remediating five homes. Given that the cost of remediation per house is likely to be roughly €50,000, is the Minister of State confident that sufficient funds are available to complete the process? What does he propose to do about the thousands of home owners who have been excluded from the scheme? Will he address the exclusion from the scheme of home owners whose houses have been given a damage condition rating of "1 with progression"?

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy noted, many legacy issues have arisen in various areas of the country. We are discussing the issue of pyrite, however. The Deputy will agree that the primary responsibility for building defects lies with the builder, developer or company which supplied the relevant building material. They should be the focus of any redress.

As I outlined, the pyrite resolution scheme is an issue of last resort for people who do not have access to any other form of redress. The State has intervened in this area at a cost to the taxpayer and must ensure everything that is done to help those who require assistance is justified. The Government established the Pyrite Resolution Board, which has introduced a validation and verification process, while an independent agency, the Housing Agency, is managing many of the technical aspects of the project.

Five houses were remediated last year as part of a pilot project costing €2.2 million. It is important, however, that we achieve economies of scale in providing a solution to the problem. The Government has committed funding to pyrite remediation works, with a sum of €10 million allocated in 2015. We are also considering whether other areas, including those to which the Deputy referred, can be included in the pyrite resolution scheme. I will make a decision on that matter shortly.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The Minister of State has tried to portray the State as a benevolent white knight that has stepped in despite not having any responsibility in this area. While our building regulations were on a par with those in place in Britain, the difference here was that they were not enforced and hard-pressed home owners were left holding the can.

I welcome the pyrite resolution scheme. I have worked well with the Pyrite Resolution Board and would like it to succeed in its work. I am concerned, however, about the Minister of State's statement that remediation works will commence on 280 properties this year. This will not be possible as the cost of the works will exceed the budget of €10 million allocated for 2015. Moreover, the proposed works do not even begin to address the exclusion from the scheme of thousands of home owners in south Dublin, Dublin city and counties Donegal and Mayo whose houses are falling down.

As the Minister of State may be aware, two commercial buildings on the north side of Dublin are being demolished because pyrite has been found in the block work. This is an extremely important issue and it is not good enough for the Minister of State to argue that it was someone else's fault and the State is stepping in as a last resort. The State has a responsibility in this regard and the Department must invest more resources and effort in resolving the problem because it will not go away.

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I am certainly not trying to absolve the Government or State of any responsibility in this regard. It is a pity the new building regulations and inspection regime introduced by the Government had not been in place many years ago as it may have prevented many of the legacy issues highlighted by Deputy Daly.

I reiterate that the pyrite resolution scheme is an option of last resort. The Deputy referred to many other issues related to defects in building materials and construction. The primary responsibility for those problems rests with the builders who cannot be let off the hook if they are found to have been in any way negligent.

We are dealing with the pyrite issue because these people have been left in isolation, with little or no support, and the Government is intervening to assist them. I reassure the Deputy that the funding is in place to address the remediation of a number of houses, which we have outlined will happen in 2015. There will be continuous engagement between the project managers, under the auspices of the Housing Agency, my Department and the Pyrite Resolution Board to assist these people as much as possible.