THE unanimous support of councillors to prevent defective blocks has encouraged a campaigner to promise that she will “continue to press”.
Councillor Joy Beard proposed a motion at a meeting of Donegal County Council today (Monday) to make sure that building material is checked before it is used.
She said: “Checking a property only after cracks appear is far too late.”
Speaking after the council meeting, she said: “My motion on construction products passed unanimously at Donegal County Council.
“The purpose of this motion is to help ensure that defective concrete products do not enter the market, so future generations do not have to face the crisis that so many families are going through now.
“We have known about the defective concrete crisis for years.
“Homeowners have had to watch their homes deteriorate, live with uncertainty and, in many cases, face the upheaval of leaving, demolishing and rebuilding their homes.
“We cannot allow the same failures in oversight to happen again.”
Councillor Joy Beard.
She added: “The European Commission opened an infringement case against Ireland over its failure to carry out required market surveillance of construction products.
“The Government said an interim Building Standards Agency would be established between July and December 2026.
“Yet, as of April, the minister confirmed it had not been established. The order was still being finalised, and staffing and resources were still being examined.
“It is now September. When will this agency actually be up and running?
“How many staff will it have? What will its budget and inspection powers be? And what independent testing will it carry out?
“I want to be particularly clear about aggregates: they must be independently sampled and tested at source, before they are used to make concrete products. There must also be proactive testing of concrete products and effective action when materials fail. Checking a property only after cracks appear is far too late.
“My motion calls on the Minister for Housing to answer those questions, publish Ireland’s commitments to the European Commission, and provide a funded timetable for the permanent, independent Building Standards Regulatory Authority.
“I welcome the unanimous support of my fellow councillors. Donegal County Council has said it will arrange to write to the minister and share the motion with all local authorities.
“I will continue to press for a properly resourced system of independent, proactive market surveillance that stops defective products before they reach people’s homes and other buildings.”
