Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (Designation of Fingal and Wexford County Councils) (Parts of Administrative Areas) Order 2026, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 12th March, 2026.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and Senators. I welcome the opportunity today to outline for the House the motion to designate parts of the administrative areas of Fingal and Wexford County Councils under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022. During my time as Minister, I have had the opportunity to meet many people affected by defective concrete blocks. I have listened to their concerns directly, as well as the issues raised by local representatives and advocacy groups on this matter, as well as many in this Chamber.

I am aware that while the nexus of the defective concrete blocks issue is concentrated in the north west, it does, unfortunately, affect a small number of homeowners in other parts of Ireland. Wherever it does, the Government stands ready to offer financial assistance to help people fix their homes and move on with their lives. It is for that reason that I am before Senators in the House to put forward the motion, which will extend the hand of assistance under the defective concrete blocks schemes to parts of two more local authorities, those of Fingal and Wexford. The number of homes affected in both administrative areas is, thankfully, relatively low. While mindful of the cost involved and our responsibility to ensure taxpayer funding is appropriately spent, the Government remains committed to flexibility and fairness when it comes to dealing with the situation faced by those affected by defective concrete blocks.Section 5 of the 2022 defective concrete block Act provides a mechanism whereby additional local authorities that believe homes in their functional area have been damaged by defective concrete blocks can request inclusion in the scheme via the established mechanisms. This statutory designation process can commence following a request by a local authority or by me as the Minister to the Housing Agency. The Housing Agency then conducts technical testing of dwellings in each local authority administrative area.

As soon as practicable after the completion of any testing, the Housing Agency makes a recommendation to me as Minister on whether an order to designate the whole or part of a local authority's administrative area should be made by the Government. Both Fingal and Wexford county councils, together with the Housing Agency, have now completed this process. The Housing Agency provided me with detailed reports and laboratory test results confirming the Housing Agency's recommendation to me that an order be made under section 5(9) of the Act, designating a part of the administrative areas of Fingal County Council and Wexford County Council as being covered by the defective concrete block, DCB, scheme. The areas covered in Fingal are Ballyboughal, Lusk, Rush and Skerries. This totals 39 dwellings, while the areas covered in Wexford cover Bunclody and Enniscorthy, with one dwelling in each location.

Damage to dwellings within the administrative areas of both Fingal and Wexford county councils confirms there are dwellings exhibiting the typical defects as identified under the standard that underpins the DCB scheme, IS 465. Some of the typical defects encountered include disintegrated blocks and pattern-like cracking. The damage is evident at dwellings at various locations across the local authority areas.

Looking briefly to the past, Senators will recall that the first defective concrete block grants scheme, often referred to as the 90:10 scheme, came into effect in January 2020 and includes counties Donegal and Mayo. Building on the work of that scheme, the Government approved a Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June 2022. The Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on 23 July 2022. This current scheme included an unprecedented suite of improvements. The scheme still represents what I understand to be the largest State intervention in addressing defective buildings anywhere in the world. The scheme's estimated cost is approximately €2.2 billion excluding inflation.

A number of changes were introduced by the original legislation, which included a Government guarantee in regard to 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 also became the fifth area to be designated under the scheme in 2024. I now propose to add parts of the administrative areas of Fingal and Wexford local authorities under the scheme. The designation brought forward today aims to further improve access to the grant scheme for impacted homeowners in these areas and I believe the designation will go a long way to address the needs raised by the homeowners in their correspondence with my Department.

The draft motion today follows on from the recent DCB amendment Act 2025, which was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in December last. Senators will recall some of the main provisions of the Act, which will also assist homeowners in the newly designated areas. The Act widened the group of relevant owners that can avail of the recent increases in the grant scheme caps and rates. It also extended the time within which homeowners can complete the works to their homes. These necessary changes were as a direct result of the continuous engagement by my Department and the local authority sector with homeowners. It illustrates our commitment to continuous engagement and improvement when it comes to this significant scheme.

The memo for Government on the general scheme for DCB in June 2022 noted the cost estimate for the scheme as €2.2 billion, excluding inflation. Provision was made within the cost estimate for the homes thought to be impacted and eligible for the grant assistance within the counties of Donegal and Mayo, and the likely number of impacted homes if the scheme were to be extended to the counties of Clare, Limerick, Sligo and Tipperary. Given the possibility that the spread of impacted homes could be wider than these six counties, and to be prudent, an additional 1,100 homes are included in the overall 7,500 estimate of the number of homes expected to be eligible for the grant assistance, which informed the estimate. My Department keeps all aspects of the scheme under continuous review and I am conscious that since the estimate was made, new information has come to light from the local authority sector and others that means this costing has to be looked at again. This process is now in progress with my Department.The cost implications of the inclusion of Fingal and Wexford is based on the reports I have received and it is difficult to estimate with a high degree of accuracy. However, based on the average cost of remediation under the scheme currently and the likely number of dwellings affected, an approximate cost of €15.5 million is predicted. It is important to note this will be incurred over a number of years so the cost in any one year will, in the context of the overall scheme's costs, be minimal and will not involve any additional requests for funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation at this time.

I am satisfied 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. The motion to extend the scheme to more affected areas is reflective of this commitment. If passed, it will bring the total number of counties designated under the scheme to seven and it builds on the Government funding for DCB 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 have met with various stakeholders throughout my time as Minister, including representatives from action groups, along with a large number of county councillors, Senators, TDs and MEPs from all parties and none and senior management of local authorities. Each group raised important matters, including the need to extend the eligibility of the scheme to more administrative areas. Many adjustments, such as the designation, are essential interventions and I place on record my appreciation for the collaboration we have had up to this stage with members of local authorities in assisting us in progressing this, as it is urgently required. I want to ensure that homeowners receive the help they need and I believe today's motion is another key step in further assisting homeowners. With the support of the Houses, I hope to have this progressed shortly. I look forward to hearing the contribution of our Senators.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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This is a good day for those homeowners in Wexford and Fingal who will finally be included under the scheme. I thank the Minister for his ongoing engagement with me on this issue. As he outlined, some 39 homes are thought to be affected in the Fingal area; one in Ballyboughal, two in Lusk, 30 in Rush and six in Skerries. This is a legacy issue, as the Minister outlined. This legacy has been hanging over the heads of those people for a long time. They will finally, if the motion is passed, be able to get their homes remedied and they can move on with their lives.

I have met people impacted by defective blocks and many families who were impacted by pyrite prior to this. There is an enormous impact such a defect on their home has on their whole lives. Their health, well-being, how they conduct their lives, family planning and future plans for their families are completely encompassed in how their home will be remedied, going forward. This is a very important day and I think of those 39 families, particularly in my own area but also in Wexford, and the many other homes that will be remedied as a result of the Minister's work on this issue.

I am glad there is a sufficient budget within the Department to adequately address these defects. I thank the Minister for his quick engagement and with the agencies under his control, such as the quick engagement with Fingal County Council, to make sure these homes can be included in the scheme. I look forward to this motion passing so that we can move on and let these people get the remedy they deserve.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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The expression we sometimes use in politics "pushing at an open door" comes into play here. It is pushing at an open door as we have the legislation and we have the wherewithal. It is now just a matter of exercising our will and giving our say-so to extending this to the two local authority areas of Fingal and Wexford, the Minister's own county.

This is just a matter of simple equity. Under the legislation, the people in the north west, Clare and Limerick deserve and of right can take recourse to the legislation so it obviously is a no-brainer, as they say nowadays, that the other two local authorities be included since the Housing Agency has designated the condition to be a real and not a putative or imaginary one. The Seanad Independent Group is fully behind this motion.I welcome the motion. We are very much indebted to the county and city councillors around the country who were not only in the vanguard in alerting us to this problem way back but who have also, with great assiduity and doggedness, brought it to the forefront of the political agenda and succeeded in getting legislation that meaningfully dealt with the problem. Local authority members are still watchful. There will be several instances of local authority members who, no doubt, will bring further evidence of the matter to be examined by the Housing Agency. If proof were ever needed, it would be evident in the efficacy of the local authority members, how close they are to their constituents and how they empathise with the difficulty Senator Clifford-Lee mentioned, allowing the people to get on with their lives after the trauma of having had their homes, their castles, whipped from under their feet. We applaud the Government in taking these measures in the two local authority areas, but we also want to underscore the efforts of local authority members who worked with the Minister with great tenacity and vision to bring about this legislation and, hopefully, see it extended in this House this evening.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for joining us here in the Seanad to discuss this motion. I will be brief. This is a very positive motion. What we are discussing here is our willingness to facilitate an additional 41 homeowners affected by defective blocks in getting the financial assistance package from the State to remedy the problems with their homes. Two of the properties are in County Wexford, in Bunclody and Ferns. In Fingal, there is one in Ballyboughal, two in Lusk, 30 in Rush and six in Skerries. This is a very positive day for all the property owners. Today will see a weight taken off their shoulders, knowing that they are one step closer to being able to reach out for financial assistance from the State.

Questions might often be asked, including by me, about some of the aspects of the scheme and its effectiveness, but that is not what we are here to discuss today. We are here to ask whether we are willing to facilitate the 41 homeowners. We absolutely must. It is the right thing to do and it is very positive for them. It is our duty to facilitate them. That is all I will say on the matter. I thank the Minister.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for coming in. I welcome the extension of the grant scheme to Fingal and Wexford. It is long overdue. Unfortunately, it took too long for the Minister to reach a decision on the extension of the scheme to these areas. Homeowners in terrible situations have been left waiting for far too long for a decision. They have faced years of uncertainty, with their homes falling down around them. Their inability to sell or safely live in these homes has caused immense anxiety and financial strain. It is incumbent on us now to ensure that those affected will not have to face a further unacceptable wait as the councils set up the necessary administrative arrangements to process grant applications.

It has been said that the scheme in which the homeowners have been included is not working and, as has been alluded to, requires radical reform. It does not provide 100% redress. Many homeowners still face bills of tens of thousands of euro. Even with the grant, many are not applying because they know they cannot make up the shortfall. It is taking far too long for applications to be processed through the local authority and the Housing Agency. The failure to provide staged payments or bridging finance is also causing many people not to apply. Even with grants approved, people cannot afford the upfront costs.

In addition, the ongoing delay in the review of IS 465 means grant decisions are not being made on the basis of the most up-to-date science, and options concerning full demolition or the inclusion of foundations are not being offered, even where these options are supported by science.

It is also very frustrating that there has been no progress to date on the inclusion in the scheme of social housing impacted by defective concrete products. Gallery Quay and Poolbeg Quay in Ringsend are examples of properties with serious defects that are not included. What is needed is a complete end-to-end scheme, run by the Housing Agency, as was delivered for Leinster pyrite, to ensure all homeowners and tenants impacted by defective concrete products get 100% redress in order to be able to live in safe and comfortable homes.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I welcome the proposal to extend the scheme to Fingal and Wexford, but we have to be honest with the people who will be availing of it. It is still not working and I do not believe it will be of much help to the families in the affected areas. We are dealing with a crisis that affects up to 25,000 homes across the State, with entire communities living in houses that are cracking, crumbling and in some cases unsafe to live in. I have been to Donegal and seen homes affected by defective concrete, where families are worried anytime there is a strong wind or a storm. If you talk to my colleague Mary T. Sweeney from Donegal, she will tell you that the system has failed homeowners there.

Ireland relied on out-of-date EU standards, and manufacturers were allowed to self-certify. Our local authorities had neither the power nor the resources to carry out independent inspections, and that continues. Local authorities need to be properly and fully resourced. Since 2022, only 69 homes have been fully remediated under the scheme. We cannot say a scheme is properly working when only 69 homes out of 20,000 have been completed. Families are exhausted and traumatised, and there is intergenerational trauma now. One study found that 30% of respondents have severe depression as a result of the defective block crisis. Full demolition and reconstruction are the only viable solution, which means 100% redress. Anything less is just a sticking plaster. The State can deliver an end-to-end scheme, not a grant scheme, that actually rebuilds homes. Resources, resources, resources.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senators for all their contributions. This is a very serious issue and it greatly affects those families concerned. The scheme is very effective. Almost a €250 million has been drawn down already, and that is very much reflective of how effective it is. I support the motion to designate additional areas in Fingal and Wexford.