Written answers

Tuesday, 20 September 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Defective Building Materials

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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268. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated number of applications anticipated for the Mica redress scheme in 2023; the cost associated with this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45596/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Following on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President.

The purpose of this Act is to implement and give legislative underpinning to a series of measures to improve and enhance the scheme as agreed by Government on 30 November 2021. Full details can be found at www.gov.ie/en/press-release/328d7-minister-obrien-welcomes-progress-on-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/.

The actual number of applications and corresponding payments that are expected in 2023 are unknown. However, it is possible somewhat to estimate based on the numbers that have applied through the current scheme since it opened in 2020. The average number of applications per year from Donegal, over the same period, is 333 per year.

Clare and Limerick will begin accepting applications to the Enhanced Scheme upon its commencement. The scale of the issue in Clare and Limerick is similar to that in Mayo so it would be reasonable to assume that the number of applications will not be significantly different than those from Mayo, which has an average of 95 applications per annum over the last 3 years. Therefore, the estimated number of applications in 2023 is 618 applications. 

Since the current scheme opened in 2020 the average grant amount approved for remediation works is €221,869. Notwithstanding the potential impact of the enhanced scheme on the average value of approvals this would suggest that the value of approvals in 2023 could be of the order of €137m. There is however a very considerable time lag between grant approval and the draw down of funding. Not all homeowners will start work immediately after receipt of approval. In addition, depending upon the remediation option being carried out, the works themselves can take anywhere between 2 and 15 months which can affect the value of funding drawn down in any particular year.

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