Written answers

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Defective Building Materials

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will assist in expediting the construction of all homes at a location (details supplied) in recognition of the defective blocks crisis in County Donegal in that it can provide additional accommodation as soon as possible. [34006/21]

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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225. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of applications being processed by his Department for the construction of social housing in County Donegal; and the geographic breakdown of same. [34007/21]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 225 together.

My Department publishes a Social Housing Construction Status Report each quarter, which contains details of all social housing developments completed, under construction or in planning/design in each local authority area, including in Donegal. The most recent publication covers the period up to the end of Q1 2021 and is available at the following link: www.rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-obrien-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-for-q1-2021/ and the information provided includes the location of each project.

I am keen that Donegal County Council progresses all their social housing construction projects as quickly as possible and I have assured them of my support in this regard. This includes a further social housing development at the location referred to in the question, for which my Department looks forward to the Council making a formal proposal as soon as possible. At that point, the process of expediting the planning, design and construction of this project will be a matter for the Council but my Department will assist in all possible regards. I hope also that public representatives with access to the quarterly Construction Status Reports, will support the advancement of this and other new social housing projects advanced by their Council.

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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226. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has received an analysis of the amount of public housing in County Donegal which is impacted by the construction with defective blocks. [34008/21]

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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227. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to surveys carried out by Donegal County Council on its housing stock; if so, if a detailed breakdown will be provided of the results of any analysis to date, that is, visual surveys or core testing on each building; and the breakdown by district electoral division of the number of houses affected and the level of deterioration of same. [34009/21]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme applies to private dwellings in Donegal and Mayo that have been damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks.

An Expert Panel was established in 2016 to investigate the cracking of external walls of dwellings in Donegal and Mayo, due to the crumbling of concrete blockwork, which came to light in 2013.

The report of the expert panel (available on my Department’s website) was published on the 13 June 2017 and it estimated that the scale of the problem in Donegal as being between 1,200 and 4,800 private dwellings and 541 and 1,000 social housing dwellings.

In response to concerns around the scheme which have been raised by homeowners, I am establishing a time bound working group, with representatives from my Department, the local authorities and homeowner representative groups, to review and address any outstanding issues in relation to the operation of the Scheme, including issues such as grant caps, homeowner contributions, engineering and allowable costs etc.  I expect that the review to be undertaken by the working group will be completed by the 31 July 2021 and will inform any changes or improvements to the scheme as may be required, which will be brought forward to Government following consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Attorney General.

In respect of local authority housing stock in Donegal, my Department has engaged with the local  authority in relation to homes which may be impacted by defective concrete blocks. My Department will give due consideration to any submissions received on the matter from the respective local authorities.

Generally, in respect of local authority housing stock, Section 28 of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 provides that management and maintenance is a matter for each individual local authority. This includes maintenance programmes and the carrying out of responsive repairs and pre-letting repairs.

Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities to manage and maintain their own housing stock, my Department provides support to local authorities in terms of various targeted social housing stock upgrade programmes, large-scale urban regeneration programmes, support for voids, the Energy Retrofitting Programme and adaptations and extensions to the local authority housing stock for disabled, elderly or overcrowded households.

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