The cost of repairing structural damage attributed to the presence of pyrite at a number of Dublin social housing developments is expected to top €11 million according to a city council report .
The council said it would be extremely difficult to recoup the cost from developers who built the estates, and in several cases there would be “no possibility” of pursuing the money.
More than 200 social houses and several community facilities in 13 developments have been damaged by “pyritic heave”, where the presence of the mineral in foundations has caused subsidence and cracks in the buildings.
All of the housing was built on the north side of the city over the last 10 years. The council said it expects the final bill in relation to this work, including the cost of temporary accommodation for affected residents to reach almost €11.5 million.
The highest repair costs are in Poppintree, Ballymun, where 52 out of 90 homes require remediation at a cost of €2.75 million.
Pyrite has been found underneath 35 houses in Griffith Heights in Glasnevin. The council has already spent €720,000 fixing 13 houses but expects the final bill to reach about €2.14 million.
The next most expensive project is at Ballybough where the council has already spent €970,000 fixing pyrite in 19 ground floor apartments.
Cost of €750,000
Fixing the damage caused to 20 senior citizens homes in Donnycarney cost the council €560,000 but was fully funded by the Department of the Environment, the only project thus far to receive full departmental funding. The department has also agreed to fund 50 per cent of the cost of fixing six houses built for Travellers in Finglas. Theses homes were significantly damaged and had cost €750,000 to fix.
In just one development, Belmayne where the council owns 18 homes, are the works being funded by an insurance company, Premier Guarantee, and the council does not include this sum in its €11.5 million costs.
Seven other developments in Marino, Ballymun, Finglas and Ballybough have repair costs ranging from €10,000 to €400,000.
The report, by the council’s senior structural engineer Peter Finnegan said while it remains open to the council, in most cases, to pursue the original contractor “these disputes are known to require a lot of resources and time, and the outcome is far from certain.”
If a contractor goes into liquidation the council loses the opportunity to pursue them, said Mr Finnegan. Under law, the council cannot take a case against a contractor’s insurer of its own accord, he said. However, an insurer may step in to defend the claim on behalf of the contractor as they do want a judgment that the terms of their insurance policy covers defects caused by pyrite.
“They are willing to spend enormous sums defending such claims,” he said.
