Homeowners affected by pyrite meet with Homebond on damage

A new move on the structural problems affecting houses at Kentstown is expected this month following a meeting between Homebond, the residents affected and Meath Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee. Similar problems are also evident in houses at Kilmessan and Ashbourne and are caused by the mineral Pyrite, Mr McEntee said. Shane Farrell, his wife Emer and son Daniel moved into their new €458,000 house at Veldon Place, Kentstown, early last year. They felt it was their dream home come true. A year later, the house stands empty and the family have had to move out to rented accommodation. There are deep cracks in the facade of the house and cracks are visible in the plasterwork in all of the rooms and in one place deep splits in the blockwork are visible when the plasterwork is peeled back. According to the TD, it appears that an excess of pyrite has been used in the infill material used under the concrete floors of the house. The mineral pyrite is an iron sulfide. The mineral"s metallic lustre and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue has earned it the nickname 'fool"s gold" due to its resemblance to gold. In a landmark case presently before the High Court, the Menolly Homes building firm, and three associated companies, are claiming damages of more than €18 million against Irish Asphalt and the Lagan Group following the discovery of pyrite in the infill material used under concrete floors in three new housing estates in north Dublin. Menolly has served a statement of claim in the court arising out of damage to new homes which it says stems from the supply of infill material with 'excessively high pyrite concentrations'. The case is still at hearing. The Farrell family, now with a second child Charlotte, had formerly lived in Kells and decided to move to Kentstown when they saw a house for sale at Veldon Place, just off the Laganara Road. It is one of four houses built on a small site by Prolan Ltd, a building company whose directors are John Finnegan and Michael Dardis. Shortly after moving in, the Farrells noticed a series of cracks appearing in the house and they agreed with the builder and an engineer to 'a period of monitoring to se if the problem persisted'. Mr Farrell said that the problem had been put down to settlement but when they returned from holiday last year, the cracks in the exterior of the house had significantly increased. Since then, he said, the problem has worsened and the house is in a deteriorating state of repair. Their next door neighbours, Alison and Stuart Rintoul, also bought a house from the Prolan company. It, too, is starting to exhibit the same symptoms as the Farrell house, with cracks in the interior walls. Some of the floors are uncovered and are deeply cracked. The doors of two of the rooms will only open a few inches because the floor has given the appearance of rising up due, they say, to the expansion of the pyrite. Shane McEntee said yesterday (Tuesday) that a meeting had taken place with Homebond in Dublin. Homebond advertises itself as a service provided by the National House Building Guarantee Company Ltd which offers security in the form of specific guarantees to purchasers of new privately built homes. Mr McEntee said that proposals had been put on the table at a meeting in Dublin and all parties had agreed to go away and study them before a further meeting which has been arranged for this month. The TD said that the pyrite problem had become a big issue in many areas, including Kilmessan, Ashbourne and in Dublin.