Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important debate. As Senator O'Brien has pointed out, this is a short and straightforward Bill. It is designed simply to stop the clock running against families who have been affected by pyrite and to ensure there will not be a legal impediment to them getting justice and having their homes remediated.

This issue has been ongoing for a number of years. Initially, when many families first noticed cracks in their walls, they could not possibly have realised what the source was. Many people assumed these first cracks were the normal type of cracks that appear over time after moving into a building, but when they became more severe the real horror of what was happening to their homes became apparent. In the legal context, it is important that the when cases are brought forward the date of knowledge is not thrown back at people as the day they first saw a crack. Rather, it is the date on which they received an independent verified report that identified the problem as a pyrite problem rather than a normal structural building problem. This is what the Bill is designed to do.

I am sure Members on all sides have had contact with families affected by pyrite, as there are thousands of such families throughout the country. These people bought their homes in good faith and thought they were investing in a future family home, only to discover with horror that their homes have major building deficiencies. Some people cannot even live in their homes now because their floors are so bad or they have other significant problems with the house. In my area, some families have been affected in the north fringe area of Dublin North-East. People are paying mortgages on properties they feel they will never be able to sell.

I have dealt with families who took out mortgages with companies that charge excessively high rates who have found they cannot switch their mortgages to one of the banks because they will not take on the mortgages of these properties. Therefore, these people are paying punitive rates to mortgage providers and cannot change. I have seen at first hand the impact of pyrite in homes on affected families. This is an important Bill for them and we want to see it move forward and to see cross-party agreement on that. We do not intend to push the Bill to a vote today, but hope Members on all sides will support it and stress the urgency of the issue.

There is a broader issue in terms of how the testing will be carried out, how properties will be prioritised for remediation and finding a fair funding solution. I know from families I have dealt with that they were in shock when they realised HomeBond would not cover this issue. They assumed that when they bought a property with the HomeBond guarantee, it would cover this problem. We need to put a proper solution in place as soon as possible to ensure the remediation can be carried out and that the people responsible, who are liable, are brought to book and compelled to make their contribution.

In the broader context, in regard to both this issue and the issue concerning Priory Hall where there were fire and safety problems, families have found they have been left in a situation where they have had to chase builders and get involved in complex litigation, without any real backup from the State. I have debated the issue of Priory Hall here with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, on many occasions and have debated the dereliction I believe exists in terms of Government responsibility. Not alone should we deal with the issue of pyrite, but we should look at the broader issue of how the State should support families who find they have a problem with their homes. These are the people who pay development levies, VAT and stamp duty, but when they find something has gone wrong, they are left on their own to fight these cases.

With regard to the families who have been dealing with pyrite for the past few years, we are now getting to a situation where we have the pyrite panel report published and, hopefully, a solution will be put in place for remediation. However, we need to look at the broader issue of State responsibility for supporting people who find a problem with their homes. The State, with all its might, should be the one to chase after those responsible and to recover moneys from developers, insurance and the banks. It is unfair to leave families in a situation where they must take on legal cases themselves.

I appreciate the Minister of State is standing in for the Minister, but I hope he can respond to some of the issues I and Senator O'Brien have raised. Senator O'Brien asked about the timescale involved. We understand some of the houses with the highest priority will be done earliest, but we need to ensure everybody will get assistance. How long will the process take and how will properties be prioritised? Who will pay for testing? One area of concern relates to multi-unit developments. How will the process apply there. The process is more straightforward in respect of houses, but how will it work when an entire block needs remediation?

What is the position with regard to families who have already paid out for their homes to be fixed? They felt they had no choice but to pay out as the state of their property was so bad they could not live in them without getting them fixed. Will they be refunded? Will the Minister of State give us the general timeframe as to when the process will start? When will the remediation panel be in place and begin its work?