Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2750. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a new panel has been established to assess methods by which to repair houses in County Donegal affected by muscovite mica; the membership of the panel; the terms of reference; the chairperson of the panel; the deadline for completion of its assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34720/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra2751. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a redress scheme will be provided to repair houses in County Donegal affected by muscovite mica; the date by which a redress scheme will be commenced; the way in which it will be funded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34721/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 2750 and 2751 together.
The Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo.
The Panel had the following terms of reference:
(i) To identify, insofar 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 within six months.
On 13 June 2017, the report of the Expert Panel was published and included eight recommendations which my Department are actively progressing with the relevant stakeholders.
The Department is prioritising the implementation of Recommendations 1 and 2.
With regard to Recommendation 1, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Technical Committee, established to scope and fast track the development of a standardised protocol, held its inaugural meeting on 11 September 2017 and has held several further meetings since. The standardised protocol will inform the course of action in relation to remedial works for all affected householders. The draft standard was published on 6 June 2018 for public consultation and ran for a period of six weeks to 18 July 2018. The Technical Committee are currently in the process of considering the submissions received with a view to publishing the standardised protocol shortly.
The draft standard, I.S. 465 - Assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings incorporating concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials, outlines a protocol which will be used to assess and categorise the damage in properties where the concrete blocks are suspected to contain the minerals mica or pyrite. Previously, there was no common way for engineers or homeowners to assess the damage caused by defective concrete blocks to help decide what, if any, remedial work could be carried out.
This standard:
establishes a protocol for assessing and determining whether a building has been damaged by concrete blocks containing certain excessive amounts of deleterious materials (free or unbound muscovite mica, or aggregate with potentially deleterious quantities of pyrite);
describes methods for establishing the extent of the problem;
describes the scope of any testing required; and
categorises buildings, in accordance with this Standard, providing competent persons with guidance on the appropriate measures to be taken.
In regard to the membership, terms of reference and Chairperson of the Technical Committee, the NSAI was established under the National Standards Authority of Ireland Act 1996, which falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The NSAI may be contacted by phone at 353 1 807 3800 or alternatively at www.nsai.ie.
With regard to Recommendation 2, my Department has been in contact with Engineers Ireland in relation to the establishment of a register of competent engineers for homeowners/affected parties’ reference. Engineers Ireland have provided assurance that they will collaborate with the Department, the NSAI and others on measures to establish such a register once the standardised protocol is in place.
Last year, I visited Donegal and Mayo and met with key stakeholders, including affected homeowners, elected members and officials of the local authorities and other interested parties. On 18 December 2017, I again visited Donegal and met with key stakeholders to provide an update on the progress to date. I made a similar visit to Mayo on 26 January 2018 and again to Donegal on 13 July 2018.
Once the standardised protocol is in place, I will be in a position to provide a further update on progress at that time.
In addition, I am currently considering what further actions may be required to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to the problems that have emerged in the two counties.
