Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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403. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the services being provided by HomeBond to the pyrite board. [24689/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Discussions have been on-going for some time between the Pyrite Resolution Board and HomeBond on services to be provided by HomeBond in connection with the implementation of the pyrite remediation scheme. The discussions have recently concluded and my Department understands that an agreement has now been reached under which HomeBond has agreed to contribute technical and project management services to the value of €2million, and such services will include assisting in the auditing of Building Condition Assessments, organising and managing the testing of dwellings and project management of remediation contracts. HomeBond has also agreed to make available to the Pyrite Resolution Board/ Housing Agency the results of testing undertaken by it prior to the operation of the scheme.

All services will be provided under the direction and supervision of the Pyrite Resolution Board and/or the Housing Agency and in this context it should be noted that HomeBond staff will not be making decisions on the eligibility of applicants under the scheme. In addition, while working on the pyrite remediation process, staff from HomeBond will not be acting as agents of the Pyrite Resolution Board/Housing Agency to whom they will be answerable.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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404. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the number of building condition assessments reporting damage condition rating 2; and if this is less than, in line with, or greater than the estimates made of the numbers of houses potentially requiring remedial works in the estates concerned by the pyrite board. [24690/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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It is a condition of eligibility under the scheme that an application to the Pyrite Resolution Board must be accompanied by a Building Condition Assessment with a Damage Condition Rating of 2. To date the Pyrite Resolution Board has received approximately 500 applications, almost all of which are accompanied by Building Condition Assessments with a Damage Condition Rating of 2.

The level of applications under the scheme is broadly in line with the expectations of my Department and the Pyrite Resolution Board. It was anticipated that volumes would be high initially and would then level off and continue at a steadier rate; this has been the experience under the scheme and applications are now averaging 10 per week. This would suggest that the total number is likely to be within the figure of some 1,000 derived from the figures of the report of the independent Pyrite Panel and substantially less than some of the speculative figures which have been publicly quoted.