Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
652. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline which the steering group NSAI Standardisation Programme - Masonry Construction that was established to oversee a review of the standard IS 465 is working to; the deadline for the completion of this review; and the international expertise it will be seeking to assist in its work. [20242/22]
View answerI brought a Memorandum on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme to Government on the 30 November 2021 and it included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn.
Full details in relation to the changes announced are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/e365e-minister-obrien-announces-enhancements-to-the-defective-concrete-block-scheme/
Following the Government decision on the enhanced scheme, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) was tasked with delivering the program of work to address the following technical items:
1. A review of the I.S. 465 Standard and its application.
2. A review by NSAI Masonry Committee of the Irish Standard for Concrete Blocks (including aggregates).
3. A review of the impact of pumped cavity wall insulation on cavity wall construction and within homes susceptible to or impacted by defective concrete blocks.
NSAI does not operate under the auspices of my Department, it is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, and as such detail issues in relation to committees, expertise, timelines etc., are matters for the NSAI.
However, an interagency Defective Concrete Blocks – Technical Matters Steering Group has been established to support and inform the NSAI Standardisation Program in relation to technical issues. The steering group includes representatives from NSAI, Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), and representatives from my Department.
