Pringle raises with Taoiseach reports of alterations to homeowners’ engineers recommendations

By Thomas Pringle
Updated: 8th October 2024

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, raised with the Taoiseach claims that homeowners’ engineers recommendations for defective blocks remediation were altered on a Donegal County Council-operated portal, as he pushed for a date for publication of a revised IS465.

Addressing the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, in the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “In the last two hours, the online news publication The Ditch have revealed further controversy surrounding your failing defective blocks scheme.

“It has emerged that in more than 20 cases the Donegal County Council-operated portal had altered the recommendations of the homeowners’ engineers.

“What I find interesting or perhaps more appropriately described as disturbing, is that in each case the alteration which Donegal County Council claim as ‘a minor technical glitch’ resulted in the original engineering recommendation aligning with a downgraded option recommended by the Housing Agency appointed engineer’s desktop appraisals. It would be naive in my mind to attribute this to mere coincidence.

“When you add this to statements from Engineers Ireland at the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, on the issue of IS465 earlier this year, where they stated that it is: ‘the view of many engineers that the existing standard is no longer fit-for-purpose where the mechanism of deterioration remains uncertain and developments in the scientific understanding of this issue must be appropriately considered.’

“Further they said: ‘A survey conducted in March 2024 of members of Engineers Ireland’s IS465 Register has shown that 75% of engineers employed by homeowners have experienced having a recommendation for Option 1 revised to another option by a Framework Engineer employed by the Housing Agency, with respect to the same property.’

“You can see why this is leading to frustration among residents in County Donegal who have had to engage with the scheme despite its many other flaws,” he said.

The deputy said: “We know that the science now confirms the primary problem is internal sulfate attack, yet three years on from the trumpeted scheme announcement we don’t have a date for the review of IS465.

“These instances, together with a litany of others, such as the lack of proper engagement with homeowner’s representatives on the unresolved issue of mortgageability, have contributed to confidence being undermined in the whole scheme in the eyes of those affected homeowners,” he said.

The deputy raised the issue during Leaders’ Questions.

Deputy Pringle said: “Taoiseach, can you acknowledge that you are hearing the frustrations of my constituents in Donegal and accept that confidence has been eroded to a significant extent?

“And from that will you commit to giving a definitive date when a revised or replaced IS465 will be published?” he said.

In his response, the Taoiseach said he will ask the Minister for Housing to pursue claims in relation to Donegal County council with the local authority and revert to Deputy Pringle. The Taoiseach said he would also like clarity in relation to that matter.

The Taoiseach said that the review of IS465 will initially take the form of an extensive amendment to the testing protocol. He said every effort had been made to produce a public consultation draft amendment for quarter 3 of this year, but now is anticipated that it will be published by quarter 4.

Deputy Pringle said: “Already in your response you outlined that they advised that it would be published in quarter 3, but now it’s quarter 4, so what’s to say it’s not going to be quarter 1 or quarter 2 of next year? So that means that homeowners are going to be suffering on under this existing scheme for a long time, for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve no clarity in when this is actually going to happen,” he said, adding that the reports of the alterations on the portal, “which isn’t on, and that shouldn’t be happening, and this is further undermining people’s confidence in this whole scheme”.

The deputy said: “The state needs to step up and it needs to step up quickly and Taoiseach, I would urge you to ensure that the amendments are put through quickly and straight away, rather than waiting for months and months and months.”

The Taoiseach said he took Deputy Pringle’s point about not wishing to see any further slippage and the importance of adhering to timelines and he will keep a close eye on that.