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

I thank both Senators for raising this important issue. In April this year, an expert panel on concrete blocks was established to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Donegal and Mayo. In fairness to the Senators' colleague, Senator Paudie Coffey, that expert panel was set up quite quickly when compared with other panels in the past. We must recognise the timeframe and it is important that it is up and running, doing its work.

In May, the expert panel held meetings with the mica action group and elected members and officials from Donegal County Council to seek any information that may be available on the nature of the problems that have emerged in blockwork and affected homes. The panel's report is due in October 2016 and I look forward to receiving it so we can see where to go from there. I am aware the elected members of Donegal County Council welcomed the establishment of the expert panel during their meeting of 12 May and they have corresponded on the matter with me, requesting a meeting. I am also aware that elected members expressed the view that the panel's terms of reference were too narrow and proposed that the terms of reference be amended to include buildings owned by public authorities. However, unlike many private home owners, public authorities are generally better equipped and better resourced to investigate any problems that may have emerged with their buildings and to identify appropriate remedial solutions.

In a specific case of local authority dwellings in Donegal that may be affected by defective blockwork, it would be a matter in the first instance for the council to deal with it. As the owner of these properties and the organisation most familiar with their construction, it should investigate the nature of the problems, establish the number of dwellings affected and identify practical and cost-effective solutions that will address the problems. Subsequently, it would be a matter for the council to present a detailed business case to my Department for consideration, should capital funding for remedial works be required on foot of those investigations. This is in line with standard practice in such matters generally and in other areas as well.

For the avoidance of any doubt, my Department will examine any proposals brought forward by Donegal County Council in this matter and will work closely with the council to resolve any problems identified in the concrete blockwork of the social housing stock to facilitate the delivery of cost-effective and timely solutions. As was confirmed by the Taoiseach a few weeks ago on the floor of the Dáil, I intend to visit a number of private home owners in north Donegal next week and at some stage to visit Mayo in the near future. I can give that guarantee. As part of the visit, I will meet elected members of Donegal County Council in order to listen to their concerns about these matters. They were in touch with me via written correspondence in the past few days and I have written back with confirmation that we will meet. I hope that will happen next week.Ultimately the terms of reference involve establishing the facts behind the problems in Donegal and Mayo, engaging in consultation and outlining technical solutions for addressing the problems identified in order to assist affected homeowners. I have no proposals to amend the terms of reference of the expert panel, particularly given that it is already two months into its investigations. In this regard, I will await the outcome of the panel's report before considering what further actions may be required to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to the problems that have arisen in the two counties.

To be very clear, the expert panel is moving quite quickly. It did not waste any time after it was set up and a chair had been appointed before visiting Donegal and it will visit Mayo as well. We will let it do its work first and we will see what comes out of that.

The Senator referred to the pyrite situation in north Dublin and County Meath. I have been very much involved in that campaign over the years. I understand what it is all about and what had to happen eventually to make it work. It took a lot of time, but those homes are being fixed and hopefully in the next 12 to 18 months all the homes affected will have been fixed. It is a step-by-step procedure but first of all we must identify exactly what is behind all this. That is the first job of the expert panel and we will take it from there.