Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 April 2016
767. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has formally finalised the membership of the expert panel established to investigate problems of concrete block work in counties Donegal and Mayo; the names of the members of the panel; when the panel will complete and publish its final report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6459/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarlier this year, I announced the appointment of Mr. Denis McCarthy to chair the expert panel that is being established to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Donegal and Mayo. Mr. McCarthy is a former Director of Services with Waterford County Council and has the necessary mix of skills and experience that will be required to direct and manage the work of the expert panel over the months ahead.
Following Mr. McCarthy’s appointment, my Department wrote to the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Engineers Ireland and the Institute of Geologists of Ireland seeking nominations for suitable persons to participate on the expert panel; in this context, I recently announced the full composition of the expert panel as:
- Mr. Noel Kane, BE, Dip Comp Eng, EurIng, CEng, FIEI, FIStructE, MIEAust, MACI, RconEI, member of the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s Concrete and Eurocodes Consultative Committees and the chair of their Masonry Panel and Eurocodes Masonry Subcommittee,
- Mr. Frank Lee, BE, CEng, FIEI, FConsEI, nominated by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland, and
- Mr. Dave Blaney, PGeo, and Board member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland.
Now that the members are in place, arrangements have been made for the expert panel to hold their first meeting this week . It is anticipated that their investigations will take in the order of six months to complete and I look forward to reading a copy of their report on completion of their research later this year.
