Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 1150: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will take immediate charge of all aspects of the enfolding pyrite situation (details supplied); if he will carry out a full traceability audit of all building sites supplied by the Lagan quarry in Blanchardstown; if he will urgently investigate the location of other quarries with high pyrite content and arrange a traceability audit for each of them; if he will set up a national pyrite investigation and monitoring commission to guarantee the hand back of fully repaired and rebuilt homes to householders; if he will liaise closely with the governments of Quebec and Ontario, Canada which have faced a similar pyrite catastrophe seven years ago and have produced protocols for compulsory chemical analyses of all infill used in construction and overseen appropriate compensation mechanisms for affected householders and local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20907/07]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1151: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has had negotiations with the builders of an estate (details supplied) in Dublin 13, in view of the alleged presence of pyrite in this estate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20915/07]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1153: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has had negotiations with the builders of an estate (details supplied) in Dublin 13, in view of the alleged presence of pyrite in this estate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20931/07]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1155: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his Department has ascertained the number homes have been built by stone taken from a quarry (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20933/07]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1167: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that the homebond guarantee will rectify the problem relating to pyrite in the affected estates (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21078/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1150, 1151, 1153, 1155 and 1167 together.

The national Building Regulations set out the legal requirements for the construction of houses. The related Technical Guidance Documents (TGD) provide technical guidance on how to comply with the Regulations. Responsibility for compliance with the Building Regulations rests with the builder and the owner of the building.

Part C/TGD-C of the Regulations set out the legal requirements/technical guidance for Site Preparation and Resistance to Moisture. Part C stipulates "the floors, walls and roof of a building shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the passage of moisture to the inside of the building". The Regulations also require that " the hardcore bed should be at least 150mm thick and should be of broken stones, broken brick or similar suitable material well compacted and clean and free from matter liable to cause damage to concrete".

Part D/TGD-D of the Regulations set out the legal requirements/technical guidance for Materials and Workmanship. It requires that "all works to which these Regulations apply shall be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike manner". Proper materials are defined as "materials which are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions in which they are to be used".

Under the European Communities (Construction Products) Regulations, 1992, as amended by the European Communities (Construction Products) (Amendments) Regulations, 1994, a product is defined as "any construction product to which these Regulations apply which is produced for incorporation in a permanent manner in works". The Regulations require that "a person shall not place a product, other than a minor product, on the market unless it has such characteristics that the works in which it is to be incorporated, assembled, applied or installed can, if properly designed and built, satisfy the essential requirements when, where and to the extent that such works are subject to regulations containing such requirements". In the case of hardcore filling, the relevant Regulations are the Building Regulations highlighted above.

Enforcement of the Building Regulations is the function of the thirty-seven local Building Control Authorities in the State. In this instance, I understand that the relevant Building Control Authority, Fingal County Council, has been in direct contact with the developers and the quarry concerned to ascertain the full extent of the problem and to ensure that there is no further use of this material for house building.

Having consulted the statutory Building Regulations Advisory Body in the matter, my Department, on 16 August 2007, issued a Circular Letter BC 6/2007 to each County Manager and local Building Control Authority with a view to bringing the issue to their notice and requesting their co-operation in the enforcement of the relevant requirements. This Circular letter also brings to their attention a Notice Issued by Fingal County Council on 26 July 2007 on this matter.

I understand that, in relation to appropriate protocols for testing underfloor infill material, the National Standards Authority for Ireland is giving urgent consideration to publication of additional guidance on this issue, whether by way of a new standard, amendment to an existing standard or a standard recommendation, as found appropriate. It is my intention to adopt any recommendation of the NSAI in this regard, when available, in the relevant Technical Guidance Document to the Building Regulations.

In relation to compensation, this is a matter between a homeowner, the relevant developer and the latter's insurer, whether that is Homebond or another insurer. Consequently, I have no function in this regard.