James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the opportunity to outline the provisions of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025. I have met many people the defective concrete blocks issue affects, particularly in the north-western region. I am here today because I have listened to their concerns and to the issues raised by local representatives and advocacy groups on these matters. I am therefore proposing this Bill to amend the current scheme by dealing with a number of issues that have arisen to date to ensure everyone is fairly dealt with in terms of support.

Looking briefly to the past, Deputies will recall that the first defective concrete blocks grant scheme, often referred to as the 90:10 scheme, came into effect in January 2020 and included counties Donegal and Mayo. Building on the work of that scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Bill 2022 on 21 June 2022 and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on 23 July 2022. This scheme included an unprecedented suite of improvements and still represents the largest State intervention to address defective buildings anywhere in the world, with the scheme estimated to cost approximately €2.2 billion excluding inflation. Changes introduced by the original legislation included a Government guarantee of remediation works, other than full demolition and rebuild, through eligibility, if required, for a second grant for a period of 40 years; provision of alternative accommodation costs, storage costs and costs for immediate repairs; a key role for the Housing Agency; the extension of the scheme to Clare and Limerick; the introduction of an appeals panel; and increased scheme caps and grant rates.

In 2024, the grant scheme cap was increased again by the maximum permitted, 10% to €462,000, along with an increase in the scheme grant rates. Sligo County Council was also designated under the scheme, with more local authorities to join in the coming months. The amendments brought forward in today's legislation aim to further improve the grant scheme for impacted homeowners. These changes go a long way to address the needs raised by homeowners. The draft amendment Bill follows on from the general scheme and reflects the decisions made by the Government on 4 June 2025.

At this point, I wish to draw attention to the key changes and main provisions of the Bill. It contains 28 sections. It will widen the group of relevant owners who can avail of the most recent increases in the grant scheme cap and rates. It will allow relevant owners who have incurred qualifying expenditure since 29 March 2024 that was unpaid due to them reaching the maximum scheme cap in place at the time of €420,000 to now be able to apply to their designated local authority to have a new remediation option grant amount determined in line with the increased scheme cap and rates. On receipt of this new grant amount, relevant owners will then be able to submit unpaid invoices for consideration and payment to their designated local authority in line with the new grant amount. Many owners will then be able to claim thousands of additional euro in support. The National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, has recently confirmed that the forthcoming revised national standard, IS 465, will be published in quarter 1 of 2026. Relevant owners in the scheme who were previously given a non-demolition option - option 2 to 5 - and who were yet to commence works or cease works on site as of 6 November 2024 will now be able to apply for a technical review of the determined remediation option and grant amount in line with the new standard on its publication.

Under the 2022 Act, relevant owners who have reached the maximum scheme grant cap cannot apply for ancillary grants. The amendment contained in the Bill will allow this cohort to apply for ancillary grants while still ensuring that the overall total payment to the homeowners remains within the grant scheme allowable amounts. The 2022 Act does not allow a person who does not satisfy the definition of a relevant owner to become a relevant owner where he or she is or was in a relationship with a relevant owner. It was brought to my attention that this was proving problematic for certain applicants to the scheme. The amendment will facilitate this for married couples and those who are in a civil partnership or are cohabiting. It is a sound, practical change to help in these circumstances.

Following consultation with the stakeholder groups, it became apparent that the time limits for completing remediation works were proving difficult for certain homeowners. The Act as it stands allows a maximum of 65 weeks to complete remediation works on commencement and a requirement to apply 12 weeks in advance of this expiry period to seek a further extension of up to an additional 24 weeks. The amendment will increase the time to complete works from 65 weeks to 130 weeks and reduce the application time from 12 weeks to two weeks for an extension. This will relieve the pressure and stress on homeowners. The Act allows for the sharing of certain information with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, by designated local authorities where it is necessary and proportionate. Following a request to my Department received from the SEAI, the Bill contains an amendment that will allow it to share information with designated local authorities to ensure that it does not double-fund payments it makes under its energy retrofit scheme to defective concrete blocks grant scheme applicants. The retrospective element of the Bill may result in certain applicants receiving additional funding where a designated local authority has created a charging order over their right to sell property on completion of remediation works. The amendment will allow for the creation of a second charge if required.

There are further amendments to the Bill to be proposed on Committee Stage. Two specific issues around how the defective concrete blocks grant scheme operates have come to my attention in recent months. I intend to include these as additional amendments on Committee Stage. I would have preferred to have these included now in the version of the Bill before the House, but the changes require significant thought and attention and the resulting drafting process has taken a little longer than expected. The first amendment relates to allowing for an exemption from the general principal of the scheme, for example that houses be remediated in more or less the exact location as they are now. Noting the difficulties that certain vulnerable relevant owners and family members may face in finding suitable alternative accommodation, this amendment will allow for the construction of adjacent dwellings in limited circumstances.

I think this change will make a real difference to families, for example those whose current homes have been modified to take care of the physical and mental needs of family members.

The second amendment relates to facilitating owners of certain conjoined homes, for example semi-detached or terraced homes, to enter the scheme at an earlier time, thus potentially facilitating joint building work. In a number of conjoined dwellings, one dwelling may meet the damage threshold of the grant scheme and the other, although displaying visual signs, may not meet the damage threshold at the time. The amendment will allow in certain situations that the requirement for a dwelling to meet the damage threshold may be waived in order to facilitate an early grant option and determination by the Housing Agency.

I also intend to bring forward a number of amendments to the Building Control Acts of 1990 to 2020 to provide for the making of building regulations and the building control regulations and to set out the legislative basis for the system of enforcement. These are being made on foot of legal cases taken against the State and subsequent advice from the Attorney General and the Building Control Act as amended.

While I am satisfied that the scheme is delivering for many homeowners in affected counties, with more than €235 million spent on the scheme to date, I remain acutely aware that it needs to be closely monitored and changed as our experience and knowledge of this complex issue develops. That is what this Bill is about. It builds on the Government funding for defective concrete block work that continues to be provided as and when required on an annual basis, with a record €175 million allocated to fund the scheme in 2026. I met various stakeholders in Donegal earlier this year, including representatives from the Mica Action Group along with a large number of Donegal county councillors from all parties and none and senior management in the council. Each group raised important matters, including the need to extend the eligibility of the cap and rate increase to a larger group of homeowners, which has now been provided for. This Bill also seeks to address and simplify process matters like qualifying expenditure, increasing the time within which remediation work should be completed and following homeowners to seek technical reviews. I know many of these adjustments are essential interventions and I would like to place on record my appreciation for the collaboration we have had to this stage, with members of the housing committee assisting us in progressing this at speed as it is badly needed.

I want to ensure that homeowners receive the help they will need. Today’s Bill, I believe, is another key stage in further assisting homeowners. With the support of the Houses, I hope to have it enacted very shortly. I will respond to any specific questions and engage further on Committee Stage.

See this speech in context