Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which, to be honest, is concerning. As I outlined, a programme of work is under way. I have asked my officials to assess the matter and, through the analysis being carried out, ascertain whether a higher level of concern is warranted than when the process started. That would mean that we might need quicker intervention measures. I will return to the Deputy on the matter, but I am not completely ruling out what she is suggesting at some level in the future. It may be possible to scale something in over a period of several years.

The Deputy is right about areas in which there are high radon levels. There are areas in most counties where radon levels are a concern, particularly in some parts of the south east, the west, the south west and the north west. In some areas more than 10% of houses may have radon levels above the reference level. The map is disturbing when analysed in detail. This is my commitment. A group is in place and undertaking work as part of the four year programme. We will look into the matter to determine whether, through the group's analysis, the concern level has heightened to a point where we might need to deal with matter in a more direct and interventionist way.

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