Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for raising what they are quite right to say is a very important issue. I acknowledge that they had very limited time in which to make their contributions. I know they would have liked to make more substantial contributions on this but could not do so on foot of the rules governing Commencement matters.

The issue of defective concrete blocks, DCBs, is particularly emotive for households and I sympathise fully with all those caught up in this very distressing situation. The goal of the grant scheme is to help a restricted group of homeowners who have no other practicable options to access redress. It is not a compensation scheme but a mechanism for the State to help ordinary homeowners with no other way out of a situation that is not their fault. Homeowners are engaging with the scheme and already 448 have applied for grant assistance, 296 of whom have received stage 1 confirmation of eligibility.

Rigorous analysis was carried out in respect of the circumstances that led to the DCB issue. The grant scheme was informed by the work of an expert panel and finalised in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the relevant local authorities and homeowners. The aim of the scheme is to remediate the issue of the DCBs and return buildings to the condition they would have been in had they not been affected by the use of such blocks. The scheme does not prevent homeowners upgrading their homes to 2021 building standards but it does require that homeowners pay for the marginal cost of those upgrades. The decision to go with a grant scheme, as opposed to the type of scheme provided by the Pyrite Remediation Board, was intended to give homeowners the flexibility to manage their own projects and allow them to deal directly with their appointed contractors. The Department is engaging with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, to explore whether the owners of homes built using DCBs are eligible for SEAI grants. In addition Government has committed to exempting these homeowners from local property tax, LPT, liability. Currently, the grant scheme only applies to the counties of Donegal and Mayo but additional counties are seeking admittance to it. Any extension to the scheme will require the same rigorous analysis as that carried out prior its roll-out in Donegal and Mayo. It would also have to be the subject of budgetary discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

On the issues being raised by homeowners, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has proposed a time-bound working group, involving representatives from his Department, the local authorities and homeowner groups, to review and address any outstanding issues regarding the operation of the grant scheme, including issues such as grant caps, homeowner contributions, engineering and allowable costs, etc. It is intended that the review will be completed by 31 July and that it will inform any changes or improvements to the scheme as may be required. Following receipt of the report of the working group and the ensuing collaboration with ministerial colleagues and, in particular, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Attorney General, proposals will be brought to Government.

The scale of this problem is shocking and the impact on people unimaginable. I want the affected homeowners to know that Government is committed to supporting them as much as possible in the remediation of their homes.