Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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77. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of the recent announcement of the mica redress scheme; the date in 2019 from which homes will begin to be repaired under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47169/18]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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122. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the establishment of a mica redress scheme; the proposed commencement date of same; if homeowners previously unaware of mica contamination in their homes will be included in the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47009/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 122 together.

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.

On 13 June 2017, the report of the was published and included eight recommendations, which my Department is actively progressing with the relevant stakeholders, 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, has met on several occasions. The standardised protocol will inform the course of action in relation to remedial works for all affected householders. The draft standard was published on 6 June 2018 for public consultation and ran for a period of six weeks to 18 July 2018. The Technical Committee have finalised the review of the submissions received and it is expected that the standardised protocol will be published in the coming weeks.

The draft standard will be used to assess and categorise the damage in properties where the concrete blocks are suspected to contain the minerals mica or pyrite. Previously, there was no common way for engineers or homeowners to assess the damage caused by defective concrete blocks to help decide what, if any, remedial work could be carried out.

With regard to Recommendation 2, my Department has been in contact with Engineers Ireland in relation to the establishment of a register of competent engineers for homeowners/affected parties’ reference. Engineers Ireland has provided assurance that they will collaborate with the Department, the NSAI and others on measures to establish such a register once the standardised protocol is in place.

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. I made similar visits to both counties this year and continue to monitor the situation and to update affected parties on progress. I will be in a position to provide a further update following the publication of the standardised protocol in the coming weeks.

Under Budget 2019, the Government approved in principle the development of a grant scheme of financial assistance to support affected homeowners in the two counties to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been damaged due to defective concrete blocks.

The putting in place of such a scheme is now a key priority for my Department and work is well underway on the development of such a scheme, including discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to funding. It is intended to revert to Government with proposals for the scheme by the end of the year, with a view to publishing details of the scheme as soon as possible thereafter.