Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Defective Building Materials

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Ceisteanna (385, 386)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Ceist:

385. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the growing tensions in County Donegal in relation to the serious problems that families are experiencing with the defective concrete blocks grants scheme and the ongoing awarding of business to the companies that manufactured the defective products by public bodies such as Donegal County Council; the advice his Department is providing to Donegal County Council on both issues; and the steps he can take to address these growing tensions. [25947/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Ceist:

386. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will accede to requests for a public inquiry into the circumstances that led to the defective concrete block crisis in County Donegal that has devastated and traumatised thousands of families in private and public housing. [25948/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 and 386 together.

The cracking of external walls of dwellings in Donegal and Mayo, due to the crumbling of concrete blockwork, came to light in 2013. An Expert Panel was established in 2016 to investigate the matter. It was chaired by Mr Denis McCarthy (formerly Waterford Co Co) and it included representatives nominated by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland, and the Institute of Geologists of Ireland.

Their Report (available on the Department’s website) was published on 13 June 2017. It concluded that the disintegration of the concrete blocks used in the construction of the affected dwellings in Donegal and Mayo was primarily due to excessive amounts of deleterious materials in the aggregate used to manufacture the concrete blocks. The deleterious material in Donegal was primarily muscovite mica and in Mayo it was primarily reactive pyrite.

In many of the affected dwellings, the problems appear to have been exacerbated by their location in geographic areas of severe exposure and the ingress of moisture into the concrete blocks. The problems were possibly accelerated by the extreme weather conditions arising in the winters of 2009 and 2010.

The panel estimated that the scale of the problem in Donegal as being between 1,200 to 4,800 private dwellings and 541 to 1,000 social housing dwellings. In the case of Mayo, the panel estimates that the minimum potential number of private dwellings likely to be affected is approximately 345 and a total of 17 social housing units across 3 estates are known to be affected.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland published a standardised protocol in November 2018 - I.S. 465:2018 for the assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings incorporating concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials. It establishes a protocol for assessing and determining whether a building has been damaged by concrete blocks containing certain excessive amounts of deleterious materials and:

- 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.

Rigorous analysis therefore has already been carried out in relation to the circumstances that led to the defective concrete block issue and the scheme was informed by the work of the Expert Panel and the current maximum grant amounts payable under the scheme were finalised in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This process also took account of the comprehensive engagement that took place between my Department and both Donegal and Mayo County Councils, who operate and administer the scheme.

Budget 2021 provides funding of €20 million to fund the operation of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme for the counties of Donegal and Mayo. At this stage 378 stage one applications (308 in Donegal and 70 in Mayo) have been submitted and nearly 60% have been approved. The Scheme needs time to work and it is premature to consider making changes at this point. I am keeping progress of the scheme under review and engaging directly with both local authorities and local action groups on the matter.

Local authorities are independent legal entities whose purchasing activities are governed by public procurment rules. It would not be appropriate therefore for my Department to comment on the individual purchasing decisions of local authorities.

Question No. 386 answered with Question No. 385.
Barr
Roinn