All homes with Pyrite should be exempt from LPT– O’Brien

​Fianna Fáil Senator Darragh O’Brien maintains that all homes with Pyrite should be exempt from the Local Property Tax and that the exemption should be administered on a self-assessment basis.

“Fewer than 400 homes have been accepted into the Government’s Pyrite Remediation scheme but thousands of dwellings are affected.

“The problem lies with the reference to ‘significant levels’ of pyrite damage. Leaving aside the damage, a house with pyrite is valueless, until it is remediated.

“I gave a guarded welcome to the establishment of the PRB at the time but a house has to be in Category 2 to be accepted into the scheme, which means it must have significant levels of damage. This means only 400 homes are in the scheme. However, thousands of homes are in Category 1, which means they have a level of pyrite which has not been deemed significant enough for the Government’s Pyrite Remediation Scheme. The proposed exemption should include these home owners on a self-assessment basis.

“I and my party have made a commitment to introduce a full exemption for homes with significant levels of pyrite that may not have presented with damage at this stage. One cannot sell a house that has pyrite whether it has significant cracking or not,” pointed out the Senator.