‘Our homes are disintegrating, we don’t have much more time’ – pensioners left in limbo as their pyrite homes crumble
Two families in north county Dublin say they are living in fear of another winter as their adjoining homes “disintegrate and fall apart” due to the presence of pyrite in their foundations.
Retired couple Robert (74) and Brenda Tyrell (68) bought their house in Orlynn Park Estate in Lusk 30 years ago but only found out “by pure accident” in 2020 that it was falling apart.
“We were trying to get some work done on the front of the house. An engineer put a screwdriver into our front wall, and everything inside just started to crumble,” Mr Tyrell said.
“Our house and the adjoining one are standing on blocks that are not fit for purpose.
“It’s been five years since and we have reached out to our insurance, councillors, ministers and engineers – but our houses have been left to fall apart.”
Neighbours Micheal (73) and Joan Keeley (62) moved into the adjoining house shortly after the Tyrells.
The families say they have felt “trapped” in their own homes over the past five years without getting access to any financial support.
“Last year, we had to dig into the foundations due to a water leak, and we saw the condition for ourselves, the walls feel like butter,” Mr Tyrell said.
“It’s got much worse over the years – if I go poking at the walls, I could disintegrate it with my own fingers, that’s what our two houses are sitting on.”
It’s a battle every year – we’re struggling to get home insurance
The semi-detached houses share a wall – around their front door and on the walls surrounding it, concrete has been filled in parts of the wall where the pyrite has been sampled.
“Our chimney cracked earlier this year and it made the mirror in our living room also crack,” Ms Keeley said.
“That’s when I saw the state of the wall behind it – it was just soft, the whole wall was like pudding.”
Pyrite has the effect of “pyritic heave” on building structures – it reacts with construction materials to create an upward pressure – causing materials to swell and crack. It results in the damage and cracking of floors, doors and walls.
The families paid for rounds of testing themselves before a test was conducted last year by the Government’s Housing Agency.
In 2020, Simon Griffin, a member of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, found harmful presence of pyrite.
In 2021, Fingal County Council carried out inspections of the properties in Lusk and identified the Tyrell and Keeley family homes as being among 11 properties impacted by pyrite.
A 2022 report from AOCA Engineering Consultants also classified the homes as “damaged”.
“Our windowsill had been pushed at least by 20 millimetres when we got it looked at by an engineer back in 2020 – it’s also cracked the wall in multiple places,” Mr Tyrell said.
We worked hard all our lives, paid our mortgage
“An engineer tested one of the samples from our wall by freezing and thawing them over and over. After a few times, it just completely disintegrated. So every winter, the houses are getting worse – this is our fifth winter without getting any help.”
The families first tried to avail of the Pyrite Remediation Scheme – a scheme that helps fix homes that have seen “significant damage” on their floor slabs caused by pyritic heave.
However, only houses built from 1997 were eligible for the scheme and for instances where pyrite was present in the foundations of the houses. Their homes were built in 1990.
The families then tried to avail of the State’s first redress scheme, the defective concrete block [DCB] scheme, but at the time it was limited to homes in certain counties.
In June 2023, an enhanced scheme opened, which allowed local authorities to apply to be added to the list of approved councils.
Fingal County Council (FCC) formally requested the Housing Agency to consider making a recommendation to the minister, identifying Fingal for the enhanced scheme.
FCC told the Irish Independent that it transferred all its information to the Housing Agency’s Pyrite Resolution Board (PRB).
“In 2024, the Housing Agency commenced its investigations and consultations required under the act. These investigations included building condition assessments and concrete block sampling with testing at a number of dwellings in Fingal,” said the council.
“Last June, it completed its report and sent it to the minister for consideration. Once a decision is made, the council will contact all the properties affected and inform them on what happens next.”
Homeowners like Bob and Brenda in Lusk are living under immense pressure and uncertainty
Fingal West councillor Eoghan Dockrell said there is a real “sense of urgency” among homeowners in Lusk.
“Homeowners like Bob and Brenda in Lusk are living under immense pressure and uncertainty,” Mr Dockrell said.
“A report now sits on the minister’s desk for consideration and I’m urging him to include Fingal County Council to allow homeowners to access much-needed grant funds.”
Both families say they are the under “constant pressure” that they will have to pay for the remediation out of their own pockets if the schemes don’t kick in.
“Five years ago, one of the engineers quoted us that it would have been roughly around €50,000 back five years ago – it should have gone up astronomically since then,” Mr Tyrell said.
“It’s a battle every year – we’re struggling to get home insurance or be assessed for the local property tax, it takes us months to convince them that the house is worth anything.
“The worst part is that we can’t sell or move, we’d get a pittance compared to what we bought it for – so you’re really trapped.
“Whenever we hear back, we do get some hope. We’ve never been told an outright ‘No’, so we always hold out hope.
“But we aren’t getting anywhere until our names are on a list and on a scheme. It has been five years and we are nowhere.
“Our houses are disintegrating, we don’t know if we have much more time.”
The families say the uncertainty around their homes has affected their quality of life post retirement.
It’s depressing, you can’t do anything, you’re in limbo
“We worked hard all our lives, paid our mortgage and thought we were finally at a stage when we can settle down and feel secure in our home – but we’re not,” Ms Keeley said.
“It’s depressing, you can’t do anything, you’re in limbo – you can’t decorate your house or go on the vacations you want to – the worst-case scenario is that if we don’t get this remediation, we cant afford to do it ourselves.”
News in 90 Seconds - 17 November 2025
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said it had “no direct role” concerning the homes in Lusk, and that it is a matter for the PRB.
A spokesperson from the PRB said that it had issued a report with a recommendation to the minister in June.
“The results of these tests are provided for within the report to the Housing Minister,” the spokesperson said.
“The final decision regarding the inclusion of the whole or part of Fingal County Council’s administrative area in the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is a matter for Government.”
The families say they have stopped any work or improvements on their homes until they hear back from the relevant departments.
“It takes the joy out of being homeowners, we always have the fear looming that we’ll have to pay towards this ourselves,” Ms Tyrrell added.
“Looking back on these last five years, we could have had a much better life if we didn’t have to worry every day about what would become of these houses that we worked so hard to buy.”