Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members of the House for their support of the legislation. I thank the Pyrite Action Group who lobbied, through their public representative across the various counties and the wider public, because of the serious concern that individuals had for the plight of the homeowners who ended up with a pyritic problem, through no fault of their own. I thank all of the public representatives for their measured and constructive contributions to the debate and for finding a solution, especially my good friend and colleague, the late Deputy Shane McEntee, who was mentioned by other people.

Today marks a significant step forward. We wish we had a different solution. I shall answer the matters raised by Senator Healy Eames later. We could not sit idly by as a Government. We wanted to find a solution because people had been badly affected and held no hope of a solution. That is why it has taken a lot longer than I expected, and I acknowledge that. The consequent work that we did, with the pyrite resolution panel, indicated the extent of the problem. I do not know how extensive the cost will be because we have not sought applications. We did ask people with a high level of expertise to assess the extent of the problem. Perhaps the Senator knows more about pyrite than the independent panel that I have established. I trust it to carry out its work, to show me and inform me. I am not concerned about the speculative figures that she mentioned that were off the top of her head.