Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which progress is being made to address the ongoing issue of pyrite; if the full extent of the problem is being identified, quantified or costed; if he has studied the points raised by the Pyrite Action Group with a view to identifying a financial structure and a comprehensive plan to deal with the issues arising with particular reference to the need for the adoption of a fully integrated system to deal with issues in order that householders can be reassured and that the financial impact on them can be minimised by way of home bond or other insurance provisions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46532/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The independent Pyrite Panel submitted its report to me in late June 2012. The comprehensive report contains twenty four inter-related recommendations which are well researched and underpinned by a broad consultation process. The report provides a framework to make progress towards quickly providing solutions for homeowners and that is now my focus. The Pyrite Panel included a detailed Implementation Plan in its report identifying the bodies with primary responsibility for implementation of the various recommendations. I will be working with those bodies identified in the Implementation Plan to achieve progress as quickly as possible.

A number of the recommendations in the report pointed to the need for constructive engagement by stakeholders to provide solutions for affected homeowners. Following receipt of the report in June I requested the key stakeholders to urgently consider the relevant recommendations in the report and respond to me with their proposals for an industry led solution by the end of September. I have now received responses from all stakeholders and, while they do not include any definitive proposals that would provide a voluntary solution for homeowners, they do provide varying levels of detail as to how the pyrite problem may be resolved and some have offered to actively participate and engage in any structure that might now be established to progress the issue.

I have made it abundantly clear that, in the absence of credible proposals from the stakeholders, I would impose a solution along the lines recommended in the pyrite report in relation to the establishment of a resolution board funded by a mandatory levy on industry. I have now asked my Department to finalise arrangements and terms of reference for the establishment of the Resolution Board as quickly as possible and to engage with the relevant stakeholders in finalising these details. This will give a final opportunity for all those directly or indirectly involved to play a key role in the remediation programme and to contribute to the cost of its resolution. However, if this is not the case I will ask Government to sanction the necessary steps to impose the type of levy as recommended in the pyrite report and in that way to provide finance for the resolution.

Work is also progressing on the implementation of a number of other recommendations in the report. I have asked the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to develop a testing and categorisation protocol to facilitate the categorisation of dwellings and a method statement for remediation work and I understand that this work is progressing. Recommendations in relation to the development of a mandatory certification system for buildings and a registration process for builders are currently being progressed under the Building Control Reform programme.

The Pyrite Panel undertook a desktop study, in conjunction with stakeholder consultation, to establish facts in relation to the potential exposure to pyrite problems. The information was gathered from a number of sources and was cross referenced to verify, as far as practicable, its validity. Seventy four estates with 12,250 ground floor dwellings were identified to the Pyrite Panel. Of these dwellings, the Panel understands that approximately 850 dwellings currently have a claim with a guarantee provider and a further 1,100 dwellings have already been remediated or are in the process of being remediated, leaving the remaining 10,300 ground floor dwellings as the estimated future potential exposure to pyrite. However, it should be noted that in the case of 23 estates (included in the figure of 74 above), with 3,250 ground floor dwellings, there are no claims with structural warranty companies or no other evidence to support the view that they may have pyrite problems. Those figures represent the position as of March 2012 and, taking cognisance of the methodology used to conduct the study and the rate of presentation in Ireland to date, I am reasonably confident that the figures given represent the extent of potential future exposure to pyrite. The typical cost of remediation for an average house, as quoted to the Panel by those who had undertaken a significant amount of this work, is approximately €45,000.

The Pyrite Panel recommended the categorisation of dwellings by testing to determine appropriate approaches to remediation. It further recommended that only dwellings categorised as red, where there is significant damage due to pyritic heave, should be remediated immediately, dwellings with no significant pyrite damage to be monitored and only remediated if they exhibit pyrite damage. The Panel considered that it would be unreasonable to remediate dwellings which were not exhibiting pyritic damage. I believe this is a sensible and practical approach to prioritise the remediation of pyrite damaged dwellings.

The costs of remediating pyrite damaged dwellings must fall to those stakeholders who are deemed to be responsible for the pyrite problem and who are so identified in the pyrite report. I will do what is necessary to ensure that effective solutions are provided for affected homeowners as quickly as possible.