Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Spin Féin. Very often people refer to spin but when one is in government and answering parliamentary questions or other questions here, one cannot engage in spin. The Opposition can get away with it but the Government actually cannot. For Deputy Duffy to say officials are engaged in spin is wrong. He has been at meetings with the officials.

To be clear, at EU level, a framework has been put in place under the construction products regulation to consider the impacts on the wider environment during the whole life cycle of a construction product.

The Deputy wishes to use different terminology but that is what it is about. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is participating in that European Union working group for the development of this framework and the European Union stakeholder consultation is currently taking place. Ireland will be obliged to follow this harmonised procedure regarding technical specifications for construction products when a consensus of approach emerges. We are all at one from a European perspective. In that regard it would be counter to harmonisation to develop national rules for matters covered by the international market regulation. We are involved in trade with all our European partners as well. I am being clear on that. There is no spin.

See this speech in context