The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) is inviting stakeholders from the insurance industry, the quarrying/ concrete industry, the banking industry and Homebond to join them in coming up with a voluntary solution to the pyrite problem.

Following on from the publication of the Pyrite Panel's report, the CIF hopes that by bringing these groups together a combined approach to tackling the problem can be progressed and presented to the Government.

"The CIF welcomes the publication of this report by the Pyrite Panel, which has been long awaited by those living in pyrite affected homes and other stakeholders," said Tom Parlon, Director General of the CIF. "The CIF acknowledges that it is the homeowners who have had to carry the brunt of the pyrite problem yet they are not the people who are responsible. This is a terrible situation for these people to be in. As we stated in our submission to the panel, responsibility must revolve around insurers, vendors, builders/ contractors and material suppliers.

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"We also stated in that submission that the priority must be to expedite the resolution of problems for these homeowners, a message that is echoed in the Pyrite Panel's report. To help achieve that goal we are inviting representatives from the Irish Insurance Federation, the Irish Concrete Federation, the Irish Banking Federation and Homebond to join us in devising a voluntary solution to this problem.

"What is clear in the report is that one of the main delays has been the reluctance of the various stakeholders to engage on this issue and come forward with a workable solution. The best way around that is to develop a coordinated approach involving input from all the stakeholders.

"We hope through this mechanism the various stakeholders will be able to bring forward a viable solution to the pyrite problem which we can then present to the Minister. A solution which will help the homeowners to overcome the various hurdles they have experienced and which will give a model for dealing with any other pyrite problems that occur in the future," Mr. Parlon concluded.

(CD)