Written answers

Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Pyrite Incidence

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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1175. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if houses in County Sligo will be included for compensation regarding pyrite defects in their construction (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8542/20]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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In 2013, the issue of external walls of dwellings displaying significant cracking in Donegal was raised with my Department. The nature of the problem related to the crumbling of the concrete blockwork in the external walls of affected dwellings, thereby compromising their structural integrity and giving rise to considerable personal distress to the many homeowners involved. At that time, several hundred homes were suspected to be affected in north Donegal. The presence of muscovite mica in abundant quantities in the aggregate constituent of the concrete blocks was suggested as being one of the main factors contributing to the deterioration of the concrete blocks.

By the end of 2013, similar problems had also come to light in both public and private dwellings located in west Mayo and Mayo County Council submitted a report to my Department on problems that had been identified with the concrete blockwork in their social housing stock. In this instance, it was the presence of pyrite in the aggregate constituent of the concrete block that was suggested as being one of the main factors contributing to the deterioration of the concrete blocks. The emergence of similar problems among private households located in County Mayo was also reported in 2013.

Over the course of 2014 and 2015, there were significant representations, media reports and letters from affected homeowners illustrating the increasing scale of the problems emerging in the two counties, the progressive nature of the external wall cracking and the resultant structural distress in the affected properties.

An Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks was established by my Department in 2016 and its terms of reference were limited to the investigation of the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo.

 In 2017, the report of the Expert Panel was published and included eight recommendations, which my Department has been actively progressing with the relevant stakeholders.

With regard to Recommendation 1, a standardised protocol was published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) on 13 November 2018 and is available at www.nsai.ie.

 This standard can be used by homeowners anywhere in the country, to assess and categorise the damage in properties where the concrete blocks are suspected to contain the minerals mica or pyrite, and it will inform the course of action in relation to remedial works for all such affected properties.

Previously, there was no common way for engineers or homeowners to assess the damage caused by defective concrete blocks, in order to decide what, if any, remedial work could be carried out.  The standard:

1. establishes a protocol for assessing and determining whether a building has been damaged by concrete blocks containing certain excessive amounts of  deleterious materials (free or unbound muscovite mica, or aggregate with potentially deleterious quantities of pyrite);

2. describes methods for establishing the extent of the problem;

3. describes the scope of any testing required; and

4. categorises buildings, in  accordance with the standard, providing competent persons with guidance on the appropriate measures to be taken.

With regard to Recommendation 2, my Department has been in contact with Engineers Ireland in relation to the establishment of a register of competent engineers for homeowners/affected parties’ reference. In June 2019, Engineers Ireland established such a register, which is available at www.engineersireland.ie/Services/I-S-465-2018-Register.aspx. 

The register lists Chartered Engineers, who have the necessary direct professional experience, competence and specialist training in accordance with the requirements set out in ' I.S. 465:2018 - Assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings incorporating concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials’.

In 2018, the Government agreed in principle to introduce a scheme to support affected homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been significantly damaged due to defective concrete blocks.

I made Regulations under sections 2 and 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to provide for a grant scheme of financial assistance to support affected homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been damaged due to defective concrete blocks. Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020. The regulations came into operation on 31 January 2020, and my Department has recently completed the process of finalising guidelines, which have been issued to the relevant local authorities. 

The scheme is targeted at assisting a restricted group of homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo who have no other practicable options to access redress. It is not a compensation scheme and the regulations apply only in respect of qualifying works that have not commenced prior to confirmation of grant approval being issued in respect of a dwelling by the relevant local authority. Homeowners cannot seek the recoupment of costs associated with the remediation of a dwelling undertaken either prior to the commencement, or outside, of the scheme. This is in line with how similar Government schemes operate or have operated in the past, where prior approval is a key eligibility requirement.

Budget 2020 provides funding of €40 million to fund the operation of the pyrite remediation scheme and the defective concrete blocks grant scheme. Funding for future years will be agreed on an annual basis as part of the normal Estimates process and additional funding can be provided should it be required. Mindful that the scheme is being funded from the Exchequer the scope of the scheme cannot be open ended. The funding available must be used prudently to achieve the most efficient and cost effective outcomes.

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