Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this because it is very serious and concerns me greatly. As the Deputy knows, I visited Donegal earlier this year with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, and met the mica action group and many affected householders. I acknowledge their current distress.

While building defects are, in the first instance, matters for resolution between the relevant contracting parties, I recently announced my intention to establish an expert group to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in both Donegal and Mayo to assist the parties directly affected in reaching a satisfactory resolution to their difficulties. The small group, which will have a strong technical background, will be set up to establish, in so far as it is possible, the number of affected dwellings in Donegal and Mayo, the root cause of the problems, and the technical solutions for remediation. In this regard, the expert group will have the following terms of reference: to identify, in so far as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to be affected by defects in the blockwork in the counties of Donegal and Mayo; to carry out a desktop study, which would include a consultation process with affected homeowners, public representatives, local authorities, product manufacturers, building professionals, testing laboratories, industry stakeholders and other relevant parties, to establish the nature of the problem in the affected dwellings; to outline a range of technical options for remediation and the means by which those technical options could be applied; and to submit a report by 31 May 2016.

Arrangements are now under way within my Department to identify a suitable chair for the expert group, and nominations will be sought shortly from a number of professional bodies for suitable persons to participate on the group. Once established, the expert group will decide upon the means by which it will carry out it investigations, including the means by which it will interact with affected homeowners on the issues concerned.

See this speech in context