John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank colleagues for their important contributions here today. I echo many of the comments made by the Minister, Deputy Browne, when he emphasised this Government's commitment and determination to tackle the challenges faced by homeowners living with the scourge of defective concrete blocks. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to see the home they have built, and all the memories that go with that, continuing to weaken over time. The trauma which many Deputies have described in their statements is real and as a Government Minister, I acknowledge that. While I agree that there is still much to be done, I do not think that some of the views put forward today by the Opposition are a fair reflection of the efforts and progress being made by a large number of key stakeholders across the system.

The new enhanced DCB scheme has been open for applications now for just over two years. The Government put it in place in order to assist homeowners to remediate damage caused by the use of defective concrete blocks. The primary focus of the current enhanced scheme remains the remediation of family homes with priority being assigned to those most severely impacted by block defects. Many colleagues here will know that significant improvements were brought forward in the current incarnation of the scheme, not least of which was the significant additional levels of funding for all eligible expenditure.

The Government is committed to fully funding all eligible expenditure under the scheme. This is estimated to cost the State in excess of €2.2 billion, excluding inflation, and is expected to help in excess of 7,500 households. As we speak now, almost 3,000 homeowners are at various stages of the DCB grant scheme process. The Minister provided a detailed breakdown of that in his opening statement. Furthermore, following extensive consultation with local authorities and approved housing bodies, the Minister will shortly bring forward a DCB social homes scheme, as provided for under the legislation, to facilitate the remediation of social housing affected by defective concrete blocks. A number of Deputies raised this particular matter in their contributions and I assure them that this will start the process of remediation for more than 1,000 social homes across the country, which I know will be welcomed by all Members of this House.

While remaining focused on ensuring that homes in the current counties in the scheme are fixed, the Government has also been willing to adapt the response when other issues arose. The Act when originally implemented covered only the counties of Donegal and Mayo. Since then, the Government has added a further three counties, Clare, Limerick and Sligo, and other local authorities may also soon join the scheme as we seek to ensure that all those who need our help get it, regardless of where they happen to live.

I would like to take the opportunity to specifically address some of the elements of the motion that the Minister may not have had the opportunity to deal with in the time afforded to him. The Department of housing has engaged proactively with the financial sector, including banks and insurance companies, on the interaction of the DCB scheme with their services. Banks and insurance companies have clearly stated that homes certified as being remediated under the DCB scheme will be treated in the same manner as all other homes. The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, BPFI, chairs a forum which brings together various stakeholders including the banking industry, engineers, construction, insurance and the legal sector. Department officials keep in regular contact with the BPFI and recently presented to this forum. The Department stands ready to assist as and when appropriate.

The Government is also very cognisant of the need to ensure that everything that can be done is done so that the situation that has arisen in parts of this country because of defective building material never happens again. The programme for Government commits to the establishment of a building standards regulatory authority. It is intended that it will be an independent central competent authority with the powers of a national building control authority and national market surveillance authority for construction products. The authority will act as a centre of best practice driving, promoting and fostering compliance, competency and consistency in building control and market surveillance systems and throughout the construction industry. A building standards agency will be established under the Local Government (Corporate Bodies) Act pending the establishment of a building standards regulatory authority.

As the Minister outlined earlier, the Government continuously monitors the manner in which the DCB scheme operates. Engagement with all stakeholders, including homeowner representatives, has been regular and extensive and this will continue where needed over the lifetime of the scheme. The Minister shared his own personal experience of visiting Donegal earlier this year where he saw at first hand the hardship and trauma that many Members of this House have described today. An implementation steering group for the DCB grant scheme comprising officials from the relevant local authorities, the Department, the Housing Agency, and the homeowners' liaison officer was set up in 2023. This group meets every four to six weeks and keeps the operation of the DCB scheme under continuous review. The most recent engagement took place last month and the group is due to meet again in the coming week or so. The group has given some valuable insights into how the scheme is working. It has helped to identify areas to improve scheme implementation, some of which have already been actioned and some more of which may yet be covered by upcoming primary legislative change.

Section 51 of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 mandates that the Minister commence a review of the operation of the Act by June 2026, three years after the commencement of the Act. It further mandates that he make a report to each House of the Oireachtas regarding the findings and conclusions of such a review within a further 12-month period. Furthermore, a review of the operation of the Act is required within three months of the completion of any review of IS 465:2018 by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. A report to each House of the Oireachtas of the findings and conclusions resulting from that review is required not later than three months after the completion of the review. As the Minister said, there were 650 submissions to this review and the report is due to be published shortly.

I will conclude as I started by acknowledging the hurt and trauma experienced by homeowners in affected parts of the country through no fault of their own. That trauma is real and I acknowledge that. I cannot imagine my own home being in that circumstance. That is why the Government moved to set up this scheme. I appreciate all of the comments that have been made by Members in the House today and assure them that the Minister will continue to work with all stakeholders in relation to any further legislative change in this area.

See this speech in context