Govt must act to secure support for Meath homeowners affected by pyrite – Byrne
Published on: 26 July 2012
Meath Fianna Fáil Senator Thomas Byrne has called on the Government to use its teeth to secure support for Meath homeowners affected by pyrite.
Senator Byrne has called for a comprehensive response from Environment Minister Phil Hogan to a report from the Pyrite Review Panel published last week. The Fianna Fáil Senator said it is the Minister’s responsibility to ensure that those who have failed homeowners affected by pyrite are held to account.
“The Government’s response to this crisis has been totally inadequate and it is high time for Minister Hogan to step up to the mark on this issue,” said Senator Byrne.
“Minister Hogan’s answer so far has been to bring the stakeholders together on a voluntary basis and ‘hope’ that they come to a resolution for people whose homes have been left valueless by pyrite. This is simply not good enough. Thousands of homeowners in Meath and north Dublin have been left in limbo and they need some certainty that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am calling on Minister Hogan to set a strict timeline of negotiations and to compel all the relevant stakeholders to attend negotiations on a solution for these homeowners.
“Along with my colleague Senator Darragh O’Brien, I have drafted a Bill to extend the statute of limitations to give homeowners affected by pyrite a better chance of redress. This legislation will be published shortly. We believe that without new legislation, it will remain extremely difficult for these homeowners to get any of the support that they deserve.”