Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 6 December 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Issues Relating to Quarries and Deleterious Materials: Discussion

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

There are two excerpts from the witnesses' submissions I want to draw attention to. They set the scene for the committee. Ms Larkin's submission includes the sentence "The cause of these problems are deleterious materials which are naturally occurring minerals found in rock deposits in Ireland". That is the core issue, pardon the pun, that has brought us to this. Only the banking scandal can compete when it comes to the cost to people and to the Exchequer. This will cost billions. The amount we will end up paying because of the regulatory failures in this State is incalculable.

Mr. Ó Coigligh set the context that what led to the audit was "the withdrawal of a certificate of conformity of the factory production control for aggregate concrete masonry units from a block manufacturer in Co Donegal". I understand the block manufacturer being referred to is the quarry and manufacturer responsible for the vast majority of the defective blocks used in the affected homes in Donegal. Was that quarry tested as part of this audit? Was there an extensive test of that quarry as part of this audit?

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