Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government
Defective Concrete Blocks: Discussion (Resumed)
Ms Geraldine Larkin:
I apologise. I thought I had everything sorted to facilitate me joining remotely. I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for his question on resources. To step back a little, we will be doing two things with IS 465. The first is that we will make an amendment based on what we have at present. This will largely impact the testing protocol, and colleagues can provide further details on this should Deputy O'Callaghan wish. The second part relates to the external long-term accelerated ageing of the blocks and the samples taken. This still requires a period of time before the experts can make a scientific assessment of the process. In this particular instance it is not only about resources. There is a body of research external to us that is required to be completed. This is why we have taken the decision at this juncture to start with an interim amendment IS 465, which will focus on the matters we know of up to now. As soon as we get additional information that can be considered by the experts, we will go immediately to examining it and getting it considered by the experts, such that they can advise on further amendment to IS 465. As I committed to last year, we will do this as the information becomes available and is considered by the experts.
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