Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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605. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a redress scheme will be announced for homeowners with homes affected by mica in principle; if a ring-fenced promissory tranche of funding will be allocated as part of budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26862/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I want at the outset to acknowledge the difficult situations that can arise for home owners when building defects emerge after completion of their homes. These difficult situations can have a serious impact on the lives of those concerned. 

The Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo.

The panel had the following terms of reference:

(i) To identify, insofar as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to be affected by defects in the blockwork in the Counties of Donegal and Mayo;

(ii) To carry out a desktop study, which would include a consultation process with affected homeowners, public representatives, local authorities, product manufacturers, building professionals, testing laboratories, industry stakeholders and other relevant parties, to establish the nature of the problem in the affected dwellings;

(iii) To outline a range of technical options for remediation and the means by which those technical options could be applied; and

(iv)To submit a report within six months.

On 13 June 2017, the report of the Expert Panelwas published and included eight recommendations which my Department are actively progressing with the relevant stakeholders.

The Department is prioritising the implementation of Recommendations 1 and 2.

With regard to Recommendation 1, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Technical Committee, established to scope and fast track the development of a standardised protocol, held its inaugural meeting on 11 September 2017 and has held several further meetings since. The standardised protocol will inform the course of action in relation to remedial works for all affected householders. The draft standard, which was published on 6 June 2018 for public consultation is available at: www.nsainep.ie/Home/Details/11454, and will run for a period of six weeks.

Last year I visited Donegal and Mayo and met with key stakeholders, including affected homeowners, elected members and officials of the local authorities and other interested parties. On 18 December 2017, I again visited Donegal and met with key stakeholders to provide an update on the progress to date. I made a similar visit to Mayo on 26 January 2018.

Once the public consultation process has been finalised and the standardised protocol is in place, I will be in a position to provide a further update on progress at that time.

In addition, I am currently considering what further actions may be required to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to the problems that have emerged in the two counties.