Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the options available for houses affected by pyrite in County Mayo; the reason they are excluded from the compensation scheme for homeowners; if he will exempt those affected from paying the property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17135/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The pyrite remediation scheme which has recently been made by the Pyrite Resolution Board is a limited scheme applicable to a restricted group of homeowners in the geographical areas identified in the report of the independent Pyrite Panel. The report provides the framework and context for the scheme and the eligibility criteria are reflective of the conclusions and recommendations of the report. It is a scheme of “last resort” where homeowners can demonstrate to the Pyrite Resolution Board that they have no other practicable option s to seek redress; it is a remediation scheme not a compensation scheme. The scheme was introduced having regard to the exceptional nature of the pyrite problems in subfloor hardcore of the affected dwellings and the circumstances in which it occurred.

In general, building defects are matters for resolution between contracting parties, the homeowner, the builder, the supplier and/or their respective insurers and in the event that the parties cannot reach a settlement by negotiation the option of seeking redress in the Courts can be considered. In the case of those dwellings that fall within the remit of the pyrite remediation scheme, there were particular circumstances attaching to the pyrite problems in hardcore which made a legal recourse particularly difficult for affected homeowners to pursue. Most of the houses affected by pyritic heave in the subfloor hardcore are located in housing estates in which a number of different builders may have been involved and the hardcore material came from multiple sources.

The exemption from the charge to Local Property Tax ( LPT ) is confined to those dwellings affected by significant pyritic damage as a consequence of pyrite in the subfloor hardcore material . Section 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012(as amended) provides that an exemption from the charge to LPT will apply for a temporary period for residential properties that have been certified under t he Finance (Local Property Tax) (Pyrite Exemption) Regulations 2013as having “significant pyritic damage”. To claim an exemption a residential property owner must demonstrate significant damage due to pyritic heave in accordance with the Irish Standard, I.S. 398-1:2013– Reactive Pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material. The standard provides guidance on the methodology to establish the presencee of significant pyritic damage .

Significant pyritic damage is established on the basis of:

- A Building Condition Assessment with a damage rating of 2 or a damage rating of 1 (with progression) carried out by a competent person, and

- results of testing of the hardcore material confirming that the damage is attributable to pyritic heave.

While I fully understand and acknowledge the extremely difficult and distressing situations that the householders in Mayo face I believe that the responsible parties should take appropriate actions to provide remedies for affected homeowners.