Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 May 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Defective Concrete Blocks: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. John Wickham:

What I am saying is that the rules of making a product and marketing it are governed by an EU regulation. To place a product on the market, it is necessary to implement the system I described in terms of having full knowledge of the raw material, having all these tests done frequently, having factory production control in place and having a declaration of performance and a CE mark on the product as being fit for its intended use. This legislative framework is the law and it is unlawful not to comply with it. Market surveillance is the State's oversight of the provisions of that legislation. When material gets used in a building, we then move into the ambit of the building control regulations and compliance with them. By and large, this involves competent professionals and the statutory certification of a building to allow its occupation and safe use when completed.