Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Press Statement - Pyrite found in Dublin City Council homes

Dublin City Council (DCC) has confirmed the presence of pyrite in a number of its social housing units in Ballbough following a question put to the city Manager by Sinn Féin. Mary Lou McDonald has criticised management for taking an unreasonable amount of time to complete its initial findings, “The families affected in Ballbough first raised this issue with the Council over a year ago, and despite their efforts the Council has yet to even tell them that it has found pyrite in their homes.”

The Dublin Central Representative went on to say: “The Council’s response to their own findings has been lack lustre to say the least. They tell me that ‘further investigation will be required and additional sampling and testing will be scheduled in the near future.’

The homes affected have been built in recent years at the cost of 6.9 million euro, so unless the pyrite-related defects are tackled quickly the scale of the problem will worsen significantly. I am also deeply concerned that the developer responsible is still building for Dublin City Council, yet I get no sense of urgency from management on this issue.

“The health and safety of Dublin City Council tenants is at stake. I am absolutely dumbfounded that DCC is not moving hell and high water to tackle the pyrite-related damage to existing homes and ensure no future builds experience the same problems.” ENDS