Mr. John Wickham:

The Chairman asked if the pyrite problem could happen again and what steps had been put in place to mitigate that risk. One recommendation of the 2012 pyrite panel report was to review the specifications for hardcore in light of the experiences over the legacy period. The aggregates panel set up under the National Standards Authority of Ireland embarked on a review of that specification and published an edition in 2014. There was a subsequent small amendment in 2016. It basically outlines the precautions to be taken at the quarry and place of manufacture. It incorporates the involvement of a professional competent geologist with a knowledge of the raw material. It puts in place a process of checks and balances and a specification of performance that has become an industry standard. That is harnessing one of the harmonised standards under the construction products regulation. It has created a level playing field for all involved in the supply of aggregate products, particularly hardcore.

In tandem with that, a code of practice for the procurement and placement of hardcore was developed. Manufactures are required to follow the technical specification in the quarry but once it leaves the quarry gate, the chain of custody as to what happens to it before it gets placed in the ground is also crucial. It outlines the responsibility for all the actors involved in that chain, from the builder when he or she places the order for the product to when he or she receives it on site, and how documentation can be controlled and understood in a practical manner so that the person gets what he or she has requested.

Both of these documents have been in place now for a number of years. They will be referenced in our latest edition of technical guidance documents C, which is under review.

Pyrite has been an Irish experience and is one which the panel has brought before to the European Committee for Standardization to ensure that there is general awareness of it in the harmonised standard, which is the common standard for aggregates across Europe. The latest addition of that will reference the special precautions that need to be taken if pyrite is identified in the product.

Hard core is just one example of an aggregate with which we have experienced problems. With regard to concrete blocks, the constituents of concrete blocks are predominantly aggregate and spent. A similar level of responsibility has been incorporated into the latest edition of the standard for aggregates in concrete. The industry has embraced the value of third-party oversight of the production process and from December of this year will allow for work practices to change. The aggregate standard, SR 16, which gives guidance on the particular European standard for aggregates for concrete, has made a recommendation that is already published to involve a third party to give oversight to the process and ensure that the quarries that are making this product have the confidence to do so and are able to do so. That is a positive measure to enable the declaration of the performance of those products to be placed on the market in a manner in which they are easily understood.