Written answers
Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Defective Building Materials
Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the total drawdown from the defective block remediation fund; if he will provide a further breakdown by drawdown in counties Mayo and Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57252/22]
Darragh 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 (DCB) Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on the 23 July, 2022.
The purpose of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 is to implement and give legislative underpinning to a series of measures to improve and enhance the grant 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/ .
Work on drafting the necessary Regulations to facilitate the commencement of the Act and the enhanced Grant Scheme is ongoing and the Regulations will provide for all matters within the Act which are to be prescribed including but not limited to the grant rates, damage threshold, and the form and content of various reports, certificates, forms, and declarations.
The table below sets out the drawdown amounts under the current Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme since June 2020.
Total Drawdown by Local Authorities for current DCB Grant Scheme Since June 2020
| Mayo | Donegal | |
|---|---|---|
| Total drawdown 2020 | €165,600 | €609,459 |
| Total drawdown 2021 | €678,086 | €3,367,419 |
| Total drawdown to date in 2022 | €1,902,154 | €4,408,195 |
| Total Drawdown by LAs Since June 2020 | €2,745,840 | €8,385,073 |
| Total Overall Drawdown Since June 2020 (including a payment of €67,000 to the Housing Agency and Sundries / Consultancies of €42,140): | €11,240,053 |
There is a 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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