New plan revealed to address Mayo's pyrite-hit properties

Good news appears to be in store for house owners in Mayo whose properties are deteriorating due to pyrite.

According to a report in The Sunday Independent, they will be offered a full 100% grant for all remediation works — capped at €420,000 per home — under fresh proposals which would cost the State more than €2.2 billion.

The newspaper stated Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien’s proposed enhancements, which will be discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday, include a possible levy that would see the construction industry potentially paying into a fund towards the cost.

A memo, details of which have been seen by the Sunday Independent, confirmed that if agreed by Cabinet the scheme would be extended to cover some rental properties as well as a resident’s principal property.

The report added: "Because of the scale of the problem in Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Limerick, Dublin and now Tipperary, the proposed scheme only includes principal homes and not holiday homes — affecting many residents who live in Northern Ireland but own property in the Republic of Ireland — or the numerous public buildings in Donegal affected by mica, which makes the blocks weak.

"The plan provides some detail on increasing the cap for a home damaged by defective blocks from €247,500 to €420,000 but this is unlikely to satisfy thousands of homeowners whose properties exceed that amount.

"The current scheme, which covers 90% of a homeowner’s costs, is estimated to add up to €1.4 billion before any changes, while the revised scheme will cost the State at least €800 million on top of that."