Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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176. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will instruct Donegal County Council to provide urgent funding for temporary accommodation for families affected by the mica scandal, who currently live in very dangerous properties with no access to other accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58508/22]

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 (DCB) 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 on the 23 July, 2022.

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 .

Under the Enhanced Grant Scheme, as provided for by the Act, alternative vouched accommodation costs will be an allowable cost, subject to a maximum of €15,000 in the event that the applicant of a house affected by defective concrete blocks has to move out when approved remediation works are ongoing. Removal of contents/house components and their temporary storage and reinstatement on completion will also be an allowable cost, subject to a maximum of €5,000.

Work on drafting the necessary Regulations to facilitate the commencement of the Act 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.

Separately , with respect to immediate repair works, on 24 February this year, as an interim measure in advance of the introduction of the Act, I signed the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 which amend the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020 to make provision for the inclusion as an allowable cost ‘essential immediate repair works’, up to a value of €5,555 in the current grant scheme. These essential immediate repair works are identified by a competent engineer in a ‘building condition assessment report’ and relate to the structural stability of any part of a home affected by defective concrete blocks. The 2022 Regulations waive the requirement for a Stage 1 confirmation of eligibility to be in place prior to recoupment of the cost of the engineer’s fees for homeowners whose applications were received by the local authority before the 24 February, 2022 (the date the 2022 Regulations were signed into law). The funding of this interim measure will also be available under the enhanced grant scheme upon commencement.

Donegal County Council also engaged with my Department to seek approval for two facilitator posts in Donegal to support homeowners through the DCB process. The role of the facilitators will include guiding the homeowners through the DCB application process, and facilitating the homeowner to access all other relevant support services, including options for alternative accommodation/storage. A letter of approval supporting the posts of facilitators to assist homeowners through the enhanced DCB grant scheme process has issued from my Department to the Council.

My Department recently published a comprehensive and updated “Your Questions Answered”document on the Department’s website to ensure homeowners have the most up to date information available to them. It can be accessed at