Professor Paul Dunlop:

I know that IS 465 is being reviewed, which is very welcome. I also know that there is an understanding that pyrrhotite must be part of that review. It is excellent that it is doing that, but I have no idea who is on the panels. I just hope that they are open to the evidence that is being presented. The European seminar to which I referred discussed the many reports that are coming back from Petrolab and also from engineers on the ground who are dealing with homes in Donegal. The committee could speak to Mr. Campbell about the number of houses he has done. Dr. Ambrose McCloskey is another engineer who is on the record as saying that most of the homes he has been testing have come back with pyrrhotite. We need more research on the issue, but the small bit of research we did with Mr. Leemann clearly shows that pyrrhotite is present, and that it is oxidising and releasing sulphur and that an internal sulphate attack is happening in Donegal. It is not just a mica issue.