Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Department would need to see the substantive information the Deputy mentioned that supports Clare County Council's request for an extension of the scheme to County Clare. There is an opportunity for Clare County Council to take the lead and, first, demonstrate that the issues in Clare are, in fact, due to the presence of excessive levels of deleterious materials, whether mica or pyrite, in the aggregate used to manufacture the concrete blocks. Second, the council should quantify the extent of the problem in the area.

Of assistance to Clare County Council in this regard will be the work completed in collaboration with the Department, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, and Engineers Ireland. The NSAI has put in place a protocol for the assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings incorporating concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials, namely, IS 465:2018. Engineers Ireland has established a panel of engineers who have the necessary professional experience and completed specialist training on IS 465:2018. Working within this framework, Clare County Council may be able to provide the evidential data necessary for the consideration of any extension of the scheme, which would be helpful to the Department in its deliberations. The Department will continue - I give a commitment to that - working with Clare County Council in this regard to, I hope, reach a satisfactory conclusion.

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