Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2015
556. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will appoint an independent panel to investigate the issue of mica and defective blocks in County Donegal, as announced by the Minister of State (details supplied) earlier in 2015. [42309/15]
View answerI recently announced my intention to establish an expert group to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Donegal and Mayo in order to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to their difficulties.
While building defects are, in the first instance, matters for resolution between the relevant contracting parties, i.e. the homeowner, the builder, the supplier and/or their respective insurers, I propose to set up a small expert group, with a strong technical background, to establish, in so far as it is possible, the number of affected dwellings in Donegal and Mayo, the root cause of the problems and the technical solutions for remediation.
In this regard, the expert group will have the following terms of reference: -
(i) To identify, in so far as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to be affected by defects in the blockwork in the Counties of Donegal and Mayo;
(ii) To carry out a desktop study, which would include a consultation process with affected homeowners, public representatives, local authorities, product manufacturers, building professionals, testing laboratories, industry stakeholders and other relevant parties, to establish the nature of the problem in the affected dwellings;
(iii) To outline a range of technical options for remediation and the means by which those technical options could be applied; and
(iv) To submit a report by 31 May 2016.
Arrangements are now under way within my Department to identify a suitable chair for the expert group and I will be seeking nominations shortly from a number of professional bodies for suitable persons to participate on the group.
