Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is some doubt about that. The reason I raise this is that the insurance and banking representatives present have said they will issue insurance or mortgage cover based on a certificate of remediation. What happens if there is a certificate of remediation and the person follows the guidance of the Department, or of this State, stating it is not a problem to build on the foundations? That is essentially the guidance. Is Mr. Owens concerned that this could go wrong?

I have a supplementary question. There is evidence from abroad, but also from Ireland, of the danger of deleterious materials in foundations. This is not to be taken lightly. In fairness to Mr. Owens, he has said the foundations should be tested. Is he concerned that people are not even being asked to test them? If people realised what was going on, they would be astonished. We are essentially asking lay people – I am a lay person when it comes to engineering – to build on existing foundations without even testing them, on the basis that doing so is absolutely fine. Does that concern Mr. Owens?