Pyrite remedial scheme welcome news for 350 Mayo home owners

THERE was good news for the 350 Mayo home owners whose property is affected by pyrite, with details of a remedial grant scheme outlined at a Mayo County Council housing strategic policy committee meeting today.

The properties affected are mainly in north Mayo and the scheme will allow people to rebuild their homes.

There are a number of options available, but demolish and rebuild is expected to be primarily used in Mayo. The maximum grant available under the defective concrete blocks scheme is €275,000, or 90% of the cost of the works.

The grant applies to a principal place of residence. Among the costs it doesn't cover is alternative accommodation if a home owner has to leave their house during remedial works.

Mayo (pyrite) and Donegal (mica) are the two counties affected by defective blocks.

However, committee members were told that blocks being delivered to sites today have to be certified as pyrite-free. Quarries are also being inspected so that they don't hit a pyrite seam.

Noting how it has been an 'acute problem' in north Mayo, Councillor Neil Cruise said this was a fantastic start to get these people sorted out.

A worse thing could not happen, he said, than to build a house and then find it 'crumbling around your ears'.

He wished the families involved well in getting their lives back together.

Councillor Michael Kilcoyne agreed it was a 'frightening situation' to find one's house starting to fall down within a short period of time.

“These people have been through hell,” is how Councillor Brendan Mulroy summed up the situation. Where they are now is 100% better than where they were this time last year.

Councillor Christy Hyland also welcomed the fact 'there is light at the end of the tunnel' after at least 10 years.

Councillor John Caulfield agreed it was long awaited, though he wondered about the lack of funding for alternative accommodation for people during works.

Also welcoming the scheme was committee chairman Councillor John Cribbin who wished the families well.