Ms Geraldine Larkin:

Deputy, apologies, I was trying to come in for a little while. I am equally a layperson in this respect. However, I am also very mindful of the task that NSAI has, which is to provide certainty to homeowners in terms of longevity, what might happen to foundations, what might happen to homes and walls. We cannot do that without the findings of the research. We have taken all of the expert advice, our own committee members who are experts. Those committees are made up of all the stakeholders. They have had a contribution into shaping the research that is being conducted by GSI and others, such that we can bring that scientific knowledge to bear and bring about certainty. While I know the Deputy talks about the first version of IS 465 being a desktop study, it did identify the deleterious materials. Now what we are trying to do is progress the knowledge that we had within the first version of IS 465. We are going to go forward immediately with the information we have to hand in terms of the testing protocol, as quickly as the research becomes available, to give certainty to homeowners. From an NSAI perspective, we have to make sure that the scientific evidence supports the decisions that are to be made. It is a very difficult position for us. Obviously we would like to be able to provide a scientific answer much faster but we are not there yet. We are getting indications but we have to be sure that when we bring the research to the technical committees, they can reach decisions on it and do so categorically. I appreciate that it is incredibly frustrating for the homeowners listening today that the NSAI cannot give that answer today.

From our perspective we are looking to push the science to give a full answer and not incur any risk to the homeowner, but this does take time.