Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

609. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide and make public all testing results carried out on the aggregate that was used in the manufacture of concrete blocks and foundations, under the testing regime of Donegal County Council or on behalf of Government agents, approximately four times annually from the quarries and manufacturing plants in Inishowen and across Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45122/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (“the CPR”) sets out rules for the marketing of construction products in the EU, regardless of where the construction products are manufactured e.g. in Ireland, in other EU Member States, Northern Ireland, Great Britain or other third countries.

Where a construction product covered by a harmonised European standard such as a concrete block is being placed on the EU market, the CPR requires the manufacturer to draw up a ‘Declaration of Performance’ (DoP) and affix a ‘CE’ marking to the product.

In relation to concrete blocks, in order to comply with the CPR, manufacturers of aggregate concrete blocks must test and declare the performance of their construction products using a common technical language prescribed in the harmonised European standard EN 771-3 and take into consideration the national provisions in relation to the intended use or uses of the product, where the manufacturer intends the product to be made available on the market.

The manufacturer shall carry out:

i. an assessment of the performance of the construction product on the basis of testing (including sampling), calculation, tabulated values or descriptive documentation of that product;

ii. factory production control;

iii. testing of samples taken at the manufacturing plant by the manufacturer in accordance with the prescribed test plan.

Aggregate concrete blocks placed on the market in Ireland for use in works to which the Building Regulations apply require independent third party oversight of factory production control by a Notified Body.

Notified Bodies are designated by the Department carry out third party tasks in accordance with the systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance as provided or in Annex V of the CPR. The notified factory production control certification body shall decide on the issuing, restriction, suspension or withdrawal of the certificate of conformity of the factory production control on the basis of the outcome of the following assessments and verifications carried out by that body:

i. initial inspection of the manufacturing plant and of factory production control;

ii. continuing surveillance, assessment and evaluation of factory production control.

In respect to enforcement of the CPR, each of the building control authorities (local authorities) have been designated as the principal market surveillance authorities for construction products that fall within the scope of the CPR, within their administrative areas. In addition, Dublin City Council - National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office, NBC&MSO, has been appointed as a competent authority for the carrying out of market surveillance functions on a nationwide basis.

NBC&MSO and building control authorities have powers to obtain access to premises to examine, test or inspect products, request documentation regarding the performance of a product, take samples of the product, request the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to prohibit or restrict the use of a product, and prosecute offences.

In recent years, the NBC&MSO has coordinated market surveillance campaigns focusing on aggregate products that involved unannounced visits to economic operators to check for compliance with the CPR. As part of such visits, documentation is inspected including CE marks, Declaration of Performance, technical documentation to support compliance with the relevant standards and product test reports.

In relation to concrete manufacturing, for foundations for example, the European standard is ‘ EN 206-1:2013+A2:2021, Concrete - Part 1: Specification, performance, production and conformity’. The standard has been adopted in Ireland as I.S. EN 206-1:2013+A2:2021.

This European standard requires the manufacturers of ready-mix concrete to demonstrate conformity to a series of specified requirements. Manufacturers must issue a formal Declaration of Conformity along with relevant documentation before they can dispatch ready-mix concrete.

NSAI has published additional guidance in the form of an Irish National Annex, which specifies among other requirements, the recommended limiting values required for concrete mixes for the various exposure classes. These values are applicable to the specification or use of concrete in Ireland.

NSAI has also put in place a product certification scheme covering ready-mix concrete, which provides for a Certificate of Conformity to I.S. EN 206-1 and the Irish National Annex provided the criteria and conditions of the scheme continue to be met.

Finally, it should be noted that local authorities are independent in the exercise of their statutory powers and the NSAI is an independent agency under the aegis of the Department Enterprise, Trade and Employment.