From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has today (6 December) published the Report of the Market Surveillance of Construction Products produced from County Donegal Quarries.
The purpose of this audit was to evaluate, in county Donegal, the relevant economic operators’ (concrete block manufacturers and quarries producing aggregates for concrete), compliance with the Construction Products Regulation when placing concrete blocks or aggregates for concrete on the market.
This audit was undertaken, at Minister O’Brien’s request, by the National Building Control & Market Surveillance Office in partnership with Donegal County Council and Geological Survey Ireland in Q3 of 2021.
Welcoming receipt of this report the Minister said:
“The results of this audit highlight the importance and value of active market surveillance in the quarrying sector and the need to continue this work in Donegal and on a nationwide basis.”
The audit found that, in general, there was a level of formal non-compliance with the requirements of the Construction Products Regulation among economic operators in Donegal. These issues primarily related to errors in and omissions of the paperwork, and the report states that this generally did not reflect a concern with the tested performance of the products themselves.
As a result of the audit, corrective actions were taken against three economic operators by the Market Surveillance Authorities, which are now complete or in the process of being completed to the satisfaction of the authorities.
Noting the recommendations contained in the report, the Minister went on to say:
“I am committed to continuing to support the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office and the market surveillance authorities with the implementation of the ongoing National Market Surveillance Strategy. This Strategy proposes to continue with and expand on the extractive industries with the aim of contributing to a safer marketplace thus ensuring a high level of protection of public interests.
"While much work has been undertaken to strengthen the regulatory framework to ensure that products from extractive industries comply with the provisions of the Construction Products Regulation, I acknowledge that there is more to do in the context of the findings of the audit report and the broader Programme for Government commitments.
"That’s why we are continuing to implement building control reforms which focus on ensuring strong and effective regulation in the building control system and the construction industry. In July 2022 we legislated for the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 to develop and promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance with the Building Regulations in the construction sector. We are also progressing the establishment of an independent Building Standards Regulator to oversee building control nationwide and to act as custodian of the Building Control Management System.
"We know what has happened in the past, the impact of which a great number of people are still feeling, and Government will not be complacent on this issue.”
Link to Report:
Report of the Market Surveillance of Construction Products produced from County Donegal Quarries 2021/2022
Report of the Market Surveillance of Construction Products produced from County Donegal Quarries 2021/2022
Following receipt of a notification from a Notified Body (NSAI) of withdrawal of certification in October 2021, the Minister requested the National Building Control & Market Surveillance Office (NBCMSO), in partnership with Donegal County Council (DCC) and Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), to carry out a market surveillance audit of all quarries in County Donegal.
The certification was withdrawn after the Notified Body (NSAI) examined the materials being used in the manufacture of concrete blocks, and was not satisfied that the factory production control (FPC) would deliver a product of consistent quality.
The purpose of this audit was to evaluate, in county Donegal, the relevant Economic Operators’ (concrete block manufacturers and quarries producing aggregates for concrete), compliance with the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) when placing concrete blocks or aggregates for concrete on the market.
The CPR sets out rules for the marketing of construction products to facilitate the free movement of such products across the EU. In accordance with the CPR, construction products for which a harmonised European product standard is in force, or for which a European Technical Assessment has been issued, need a Declaration of Performance from the manufacturer. The product must also be affixed with a CE marking before it can be placed on the internal market. There are approximately 450 harmonised standards published covering a wide range of construction products including concrete blocks, aggregates for concrete and hardcore.
In order to affix a CE mark, most construction products require the intervention of a Notified Body. Notified Bodies are designated bodies that carry out third-party tasks, typically being product certification bodies, factory production control certification bodies and testing laboratories. The degree of intervention by a Notified Body in the placing of a product on the market is set out in the relevant harmonised standard. The department is the Notifying Authority in Ireland.
Compliance assessment carried out by the Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) may be divided into two forms, formal compliance and technical compliance. Formal compliance assessment addresses administrative requirements (e.g. CE marking, DoPs, availability of required technical documentation) while technical compliance assessment examines product characteristics.
The NBCMSO, in partnership with DCC and GSI, commenced the audit process in Donegal in Q3 of 2021. Activity included identifying relevant operators, requesting compliance documentation, conducting site visits and commissioning laboratory tests to fulfil the scope of the audit.
GSI led the assessment of aggregates for concrete, by reviewing the economic operators’ geological reports related to their knowledge of the raw material and putting in place a targeted sampling and testing programme for aggregates for concrete being placed on the market or used in other concrete products.
Overall 17 economic operators were checked as part of the audit which included 9 concrete blocks manufacturers whose blocks were sampled to determine the level of technical compliance with the manufacturers’ declarations as per their obligations under the Construction Products Regulation.
Corrective actions were taken against 3 Economic Operators in response to the market surveillance activity.
In respect of the two concrete block manufacturers (Economic Operators F and G), who had their certification withdrawn by the Notified Body (NSAI), both manufacturers were visited, compliance information was requested, product samples were taken, testing was carried out and corrective actions were applied. According to the report there were no adverse results in relation to the performance of the concrete blocks. The report also states that one economic operator had their FPC certificate reissued by a Notified Body (NSAI) and the other is in the process of re-applying for FPC certification.
A third manufacturer (Economic Operator B) of aggregates for concrete had a technical non-compliance. This manufacturer was required to take corrective actions which included adjustments to its FPC process and has since regained certification.
In addition, the audit found that there was a significant level of formal non-compliance with the requirements of the CPR among Economic Operators in Donegal, the issues primarily related to errors in and omissions of the paperwork, and the report states that this generally did not reflect a concern with the tested performance of the products themselves.
The report concludes with several recommendations aimed at improving the levels of compliance with the CPR among concrete block manufacturers and the producers of aggregates for use in concrete.