Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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544. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of Green Certificates issued for houses inspected for pyrite in Fingal by district, excluding homes that have been remediated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25889/16]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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545. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that homeowners with Grade 1 pyrite in their homes are not covered by the exemption scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25890/16]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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546. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are persons in Lusk and other areas of North County Dublin who cannot sell their homes and whose homes are effectively useless but who are excluded from the exemption scheme due to the fact that the level of pyrite is not sufficiently serious; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25892/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 544 to 546, inclusive together.

One of the key recommendations of the (June 2012) was the development of a protocol which would facilitate the testing and categorisation of dwellings in order to establish if there is reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material and whether it has caused pyritic heave.

In response to this recommendation, I.S. 398-1:2013 - Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material – Part 1: Testing and Categorisationwas published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland in January 2013 , and provides the means by which dwellings, which may be affected by pyrite can be tested and categorised. In broad terms, the standard sets out a two-step process to facilitate the testing and categorisation of dwellings.

The first step requires that a Building Condition Assessment be carried out; this comprises a desktop study and a visual non-invasive internal and external inspection of a dwelling to establish the presence or absence of visible damage that is consistent with pyritic heave and to quantify the extent and significance of such damage in that dwelling. Damage ratings of 0, 1 or 2 can be assigned to a dwelling under this process.

The results of the Building Condition Assessment will inform whether the second step, i.e. sampling and testing of the sub-floor hardcore material, will be required in order to confirm the presence or otherwise of reactive pyrite. Dwellings which have been tested and the hardcore is shown not to be susceptible to expansion are classified as Category A and may be issued with a green certificate. These dwellings have a negligible risk of pyrite damage given that testing has demonstrated that the hardcore is not susceptible to expansion; any damage that may be visible in such dwellings is likely to be attributable to other causes. Homeowners wishing to place their homes on the market may test their properties in accordance with I.S. 398-1:2013 and, where appropriate, obtain a green certificate from a competent person to show their home is not susceptible to pyritic heave. However, my Department does not maintain statistics on the number of properties which have been provided with green certificates given there are no requirements on property owners to test their properties for pyrite nor are there any requirements to report on the issue of green certificates.

The Pyrite Panel’s report provided the overarching framework for the development of the and the ensuing The Panel was clear in its view that only dwellings with significant damage due to pyritic heave should be remediated and that it would be unreasonable to expect dwellings not exhibiting such damage to be remediated unless or until they exhibit significant pyritic damage. This remains the position with regard to dwellings which do not display significant pyritic damage.

The pyrite remediation scheme 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. It is a condition of eligibility under the scheme that an application to the Board must be accompanied by a Building Condition Assessment with a Damage Condition Rating of 2.

While dwellings with a Damage Condition Rating of 1, or a 1 with progression, do not qualify under the scheme, some may be considered for inclusion at a later stage if the Board is satisfied that exceptional circumstances apply in accordance with the provisions of section 17 of the Act. My Department also understands that, in a number of cases, dwellings which had a Damage Condition Rating of 1 when their Building Condition Assessments were first completed have now progressed to a Damage Condition Rating of 2; these dwellings have now been included in the pyrite remediation scheme.