Fine Gael TD for Dublin North Alan Farrell yesterday received confirmation that the household charge will be reviewed for pyrite affected homeowners upon the findings of the report issued by the pyrite panel, after raising the proposal during the topical issue debate in the Dail yesterday.
“Minister Fergus O’Dowd TD, speaking on behalf of the Minister for Environment Phil Hogan TD, outlined that he will be giving serious consideration to this proposal upon receipt of the report from the established Pyrite Panel.
Speaking the Dáil yesterday, Alan Farrell TD outlined reasons why pyrite affected homes should be recognised as incomplete, “Pyrite presents a significant health and safety risk to home owners because of the pyrite swell in the floor slab which for example, can cause problems opening and closing doors, and in itself requires considerable remedial work.
“Affected homes require significant reconstruction work, turning estates into building sites once again. Work can take anything from 8 weeks to several months to complete, and I fundamentally believe that it is inappropriate to place the Household Charge on these properties while there is an exemption for ‘unfinished estates’.
“In the meantime, there is currently a list on www.householdcharge.ie of estates that are exempt from the Household Charge and I would urge homeowners who are in unfinished estates to clarify their position as some of these estates are in Dublin North.
“I am pleased that the Minister will give this proposal full consideration upon receipt of the Pyrite Panel report, and I accept the difficulties in this regard to the identification of relevant problematic properties. However this government has done more for pyrite home owners in nine months than any other government since 2007, and I believe this is a realistic conclusion that can be addressed as part of the report by the Pyrite Panel. “