Council under fire regarding pyrite in Westport estate

WESTPORT councillors have demanded answers from council officials on whether they allowed the sale of houses in a Westport estate despite knowing they may be contaminated by pyrite.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn has claimed that in June 2017 senior officials of Mayo County Council became aware that concrete blocks in a number of houses in the Páirc na Coille estate in Westport may be contaminated with pyrite.

The matter was raised at this afternoon's monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District in Belmullet by Cllr Flynn, who demanded a special meeting take place on December 12 to allow council officials to answer a number of questions surrounding what the council knew about pyrite contamination in the Páirc na Coille estate.

The meeting heard that a number of houses in the 54 house estate were sold post 2017 and councillors have demanded to know if the council allowed the sales to go through, knowing there was a potential problem with pyrite.

The Páirc na Coille estate was built 20 years ago as an affordable housing scheme by Mayo County Council and the housing body Respond. A number of the houses have tested positive for pyrite and will have to be knocked and rebuilt due to the damage caused by pyrite contamination in the concrete blocks.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn told the meeting that he was stunned to discover that council officials were made aware of a potential pyrite problem in Páirc na Coille in 2017 and neither residents nor local councillors were made aware.

He explained Mayo County Council would receive a stake in any house sold in Páirc na Coille and accused the local authority of profiteering from these sales while knowing of a potential pyrite issue.

“Since 2017 we have had a significant number of houses purchased for between €250,000 and €295,000. I know lots of people in Páirc na Coille have refurbished their houses over the last five or six years with new doors and windows and insulation and a number have built on extensions.

“Any houses sold in Pairc na Coille there would have been a claw back because the council had a stake in those houses. For every house sold for decent money the owners had to give money back to the council so in effect the council profited on the back of the prices of those houses. Had that information come available in 2017, the valuation of those houses would have plummeted overnight until we had confirmation that there was or was not pyrite. We know now that of the ones tested all have confirmed to contain pyrite,” he said.

Cllr Flynn outlined a number of questions which he felt needed answering at the special meeting including how many houses were sold in Páirc na Coille since 2017. He demanded that the Council’s Chief Executive Kevin Kelly be in attendance at the meeting.

The three other Westport based councillors all came out in favour of the special meeting with Independent councillor Christy Hyland commenting that the local authority could be facing serious legal issues if they allowed houses to be sold knowing they were affected by pyrite.

“The last thing you want to see is a loved one paying a mortgage on a property that is defective and Mayo County Council knew there was a pyrite issue. If it was done to one of my family I do not know what I would do. If it was one of my family I would be getting legal advice,” he said.

Fellow Independent councillor John O'Malley said the big issue which needed to be answered was did somebody buy a house in Páirc na Coille at a time when the council knew there was a potential pyrite problem. He added that it would be a disgrace if this did happen.

Fianna Fáil councillor Brendan Mulroy said the residents in Pairc na Coille have become a prisoner in their own minds because of the stress and worry caused by knowing pyrite is in their home. He commented that the council has a good record of purchasing houses which come up for sale and asked did the council attempt to purchase any house in Pairc na Coille post 2017.

The meeting became heated at times with councillors demanding answers from senior officials including the council's head of housing, Tom Gilligan, who was present. Cllr Mulroy commented at one point that the silence from the senior officials was deafening. 

Mr Gilligan accused Cllr Hyland of being disrespectful to him when he stood up and banged the table and as a result there was no point in answering any of his questions.

“I don't think it is appropriate for elected members to get agitated or upset. We have to conduct our meetings with a decorum of respect. I don't see the point in answering any questions today because some members are very upset and there is a show of anger and resentment and people need to calm down. I don't think it is a way of conducting meetings,” he said.

Director of Services, Catherine McConnell said that the appropriate time to answer any questions on the matter was at the special meeting on December 12.

As the meeting became more heated, Cllr Mulroy suggested that the monthly meeting be adjourned until a later date.

“We all have respect for each other around the table and the best way to move forward is to adjourn the meeting,” he suggested.

He was supported by Cllr Flynn who said he did not think anybody was being attacked but felt the wisest thing to do was adjourn the meeting and reconvene the monthly meeting after the special meeting on December 12. The meeting was held in the Belmullet Civic Offices, and council staff, councillors and media had all travelled expecting a full meeting of the municipal district.