Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
546. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the process for quarry testing; the person or body responsible for sourcing/choosing the samples; whether the testing process will be updated in view of the status of the review of IS465; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71454/25]
View answerThe Construction Products Regulations ((EU) No 305/2011 (CPR) sets out rules for the marketing of construction products, including aggregates for concrete and concrete blocks, in the EU.
Where a construction product covered by a harmonised standard is being placed on the EU market, the CPR requires the manufacturer to draw up a ‘declaration of performance’ and affix a ‘CE’ marking to the product. In order to do so, manufacturers must test and declare the performance of their construction products using a common technical language prescribed in the harmonised standard. Typically, the manufacturer shall carry out:
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;
factory production control;
testing of samples taken at the manufacturing plant by the manufacturer in accordance with the prescribed test plan.
Notified Bodies are designated by my Department to carry out third party tasks in accordance with the systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance as provided for 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:
initial inspection of the manufacturing plant and of factory production control;
continuing surveillance, assessment and evaluation of factory production control.
The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), is Ireland’s official standards body and is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment. NSAI has produced additional guidance to some harmonised standards, under the CPR, in the form of Standard Recommendations (SRs) which set out appropriate minimum performance levels for specific intended uses of certain construction products in Ireland.
Ultimately, the manufacturer is responsible for compliance with the CPR and in particular for the Declaration of Performance/CE marking of the construction product he or she is placing on the market, having full knowledge of the raw material (as is legally required by the CPR via the relevant harmonised European Standards) and having regard to the end product’s suitability for use in construction works in accordance with the relevant Standard Recommendations published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
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, NBCMSO, has been appointed as a competent authority for the carrying out of market surveillance functions on a nationwide basis.
Building control authorities will liaise with NBCMSO to support compliance with the CPR and to determine appropriate action on enforcement matters, as they arise.
Market surveillance activity should enable non-compliant products to be identified and kept or taken off the market with unscrupulous and/or criminal economic operators prosecuted and penalised for their actions. In this context, it is important to note that the overarching objective of a market surveillance authority is to ensure that compliant products are placed on the market. Where non-compliance is identified, market surveillance activities should be designed to encourage economic operators to take appropriate corrective actions to redress the position within a reasonable period of time.
Market surveillance authorities have significant powers including to obtain access to the place of manufacture or storage, request technical information, select samples of the construction product and carry out evaluations, examination or tests on such samples. Where construction products are placed on the market which do not comply with the requirements set out in the CPR, market surveillance authorities have powers to direct the relevant economic operator to take the necessary corrective actions to bring the product into compliance. Where this does not work, there are further procedures that may result in the product being withdrawn or recalled from the market, its use subject to special conditions, or the products availability on the market being prohibited or restricted.
Separate to the above, the NSAI have published I.S. 465:2018 which is solely intended for use by those who intend to provide assessment and testing services for dwellings that are suspected of being affected by defective concrete blocks. As such, I.S. 465:2018 does not have a bearing on the rules for placing construction products on the market in accordance with the CPR.
Finally, it should be noted that a number of State agencies are currently responsible for regulating different aspects of quarries as set out below.
Planning authorities may grant planning permission for a development on lands such as a quarry. A person is not entitled solely by reasons of a planning permission to carry out development.
When making a decision on a planning application for a quarry, the relevant planning authority is required to have regard to the particular local circumstances of the proposed development and may attach appropriate conditions to the permission on a case by case basis.
My Department issued statutory Guidelines to Planning Authorities on Quarrying and Ancillary Activities in April 2004, to which planning authorities must have regard when considering a planning application for a quarry. The Guidelines include planning guidance on the attachment of appropriate conditions to quarry-related permissions.
Where blasting is required, the issuing of a permit for the use of explosives in the extractive industry, or for other purposes, is a matter for An Garda Síochána, which falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, whose Department has issued the Guide to Explosives Legislation in Ireland.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment published guidelines in 2006 on Environmental Management in the Extractive Industry, which complement the 2004 Quarrying Guidelines issued by my Department and include advice on the management of environmental issues associated with blasting in quarries, such as pollution, noise and vibration.
Furthermore, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) - which is under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - is responsible for the enforcement of health and safety in the workplace, including specific requirements in relation to the operation of quarries under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Quarries) Regulations 2008, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Quarries) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 and their associated guidance.
