Fine Gael TD for Dublin North, Alan Farrell, has today (Wednesday) welcomed the publication of the Pyrite Report which contains 24 recommendations and provides a roadmap for the next steps required to solve the huge difficulties facing affected homeowners in Fingal, Dublin City, Meath, Kildare and Offaly.
“Today’s report identified 74 estates, including 12,250 ground floor dwellings, as possibly being affected by pyrite, which is significantly lower than the 100,000 figure previously estimated. The report contains 24 recommendations which will form a roadmap of the next steps needed to resolve pyrite-affected homes.
“Of the 12,250 dwellings, approximately 850 currently have a claim with a guarantee provider. A further 1,100 dwellings have already, or are in the process of, being fixed. This could leave a maximum of 10,300 homes with potential future exposure to pyrite problems. The only recognised method of solving pyrite-affected homes is to remove and replace the defective hardcore material of the house, at an estimated cost of €45,000.
“The report has recommended that all relevant stakeholders across the industry, including the construction industry, banking sector, insurance industry and quarries, be compelled to bear the cost of repairing pyrite-affected homes. It also recommends the establishment of a standardised testing regime.
“Homes will be categorised into a traffic light system, where those classed as red will be treated immediately, amber refers to homes which need to be monitored on an ongoing basis, followed by a green category, where houses which don’t have reactive pyrite in its hardcore, or it has already been replaced.
“I have been campaigning for a resolution on this serious issue for a number of years and I lobbied strongly for the establishment of this panel, with whom I continuously engaged with over the past 12 months. My home tested positive for pyrite seven years ago, along with hundreds of others in north county Dublin and thousands of others across the country.
“This is a positive step forward, one that will get the ball rolling for a lot of homeowners who have been shunned by developers or insurance companies. These organisations will now be compelled by the Government to play their part in the testing and rebuilding of homes.
“I hope that this news will bring hope and to rejuvenate those in pyrite-affected homes who felt that they had no recourse. I have already engaged with the Minster for the Environment regarding the implementation of the report and I intend to see this through to the end.”