Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

199. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will ensure that the scheme involving householders in County Kildare regarding pyrite will be extended to the rest of the State. [47698/14]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 provides the statutory framework for the pyrite remediation scheme and while the Act provides that the scheme may, subject to my approval, be amended, replaced or revoked, this can only be done in accordance with the scope of the Act. Any proposal to amend the scheme would, in the first instance, be a matter for the Pyrite Resolution Board and any such proposal would require detailed consideration of the evidence deemed necessary to support the case for an amendment to the scheme.

The pyrite remediation scheme, which was published by the Pyrite Resolution Board in February of 2014, was developed having regard to the recommendations set out in the report of the independent Pyrite Panel and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013. The Panel was established in September 2011 to explore options for a resolution to the problem of pyrite in the subfloor hardcore material which at that time had manifested itself in dwellings in a number of areas. The Panel reported in July 2012.

It is a scheme of “last resort” and is limited in its application and scope. The scheme is applicable to dwellings which are subject to significant damage attributable to pyritic heave established in accordance with I.S. 398-1:2013 Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material – Part 1: Testing and categorisation protocol. In addition, applicants under the scheme must be able to demonstrate to the Board that they have no practicable options, other than under the scheme, to secure the remediation of their homes.

The scheme applies to dwellings in the five local authority areas identified in the pyrite report - Meath, Kildare, Offaly and the administrative areas of Dublin City and Fingal. The inclusion of those areas in the scheme followed an extensive consultation process by the Pyrite Panel and was premised on a number of pertinent factors. In this regard, similar factors would need to be examined in advance of extending the scheme to any other area, given that the scheme is ultimately one of last resort.