A special Oireachtas Housing Committee nmeeting has heard a call for the quarry at the centre of the defective blocks scandal in Donegal to be re-inspected, and the results of previous geological tests independently assessed.
In an exchange with Feargal O’Coigligh, an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Housing, Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn asked for assurances that the work would be done after it emerged the quarry in question, which he did not specifically name, is no longer producing construction materials.
That means it is not subject to regular inspections, after thje committee was told that of around 180 quarries in the county, only the 17 which are producing materials were included in an audit published this week.
Deputy MacLochlainn told Mr O’Coigligh that people in Donegal need assurances.
In this clip, Deputy MacLochlainn is also speaking to Richard Butler from the Building Control Office and Eoin McGrath, a Senior Geologist with the Department ………
Ulster University Professor Paul Dunlop has been involved in the defective blocks campaign for several years, and was one of the organisers of a major conference in Letterkenny last month.
He says one of the key things that came in to focus at that committee hearing was the fact that various organisations have different responsibilities, and it can be hard to pin down who’s responsible for what…….
