Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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241. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the State organisation that assumed responsibility for ensuring the quality of concrete blocks from the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards after it was merged with the National Board for Science and Technology to form Eolas in 1988 and then Forbairt in 1993. [50457/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On and from 1 July 2013, under Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 (known as the Construction Products Regulation or the “CPR”), CE marking became mandatory for all construction products placed on the market in the European Economic Area for which there exists a harmonised European product standard.

 The CPR provides for Assessment and Verification of Constancy of Performance (AVCP) as a harmonised system defining how to assess products and control the constancy of the assessment results. This system safeguards the reliability and accuracy of the manufacturer’s Declaration of Performance.  The AVCP system 2+ requires that an independent Notified Body, designated under the CPR, carries out auditing of the manufacturer’s factory production control (FPC) to ensure the integrity of the particular production control process. To comply with Irish Building Regulations aggregate masonry concrete blocks must be declared under AVCP 2+.

As a Notified Body under the CPR, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)’s scope of auditing and certification is limited to the factory production control process (FCP).  This NSAI Certification enables a business to use the CE marking, as the manufacturer’s declaration, on their construction product as per the CPR. At all times responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the CPR rests with the manufacturer.

 NSAI’s remit does not extend to monitoring products on the market (i.e. Market Surveillance), which is the responsibility of Market Surveillance authorities. Initially the market surveillance function was carried out by Local Authorities, however, it is now the responsibility of the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office.