Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on engagement between his Department and Mayo County Council regarding a scheme for the remediation of the 17 social houses that have tested positive for the existence of Pyrite in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59835/22]

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 ('the Act') 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 is ongoing and the Regulations will provide for all matters within the Act which are to be prescribed for the enhanced DCB grant scheme including but not limited to the grant rates, damage threshold, and the form and content of various reports, certificates, forms, and declarations.

Section 36 of the Act provides that the Government may make a further DCB scheme for the purposes of enabling a designated local authority or an approved housing body to remedy damage caused to dwellings by the use of defective concrete blocks in their construction. The grant rates for this local authority and approved housing body DCB scheme shall be the same as the enhanced DCB grant scheme.

In order to inform the necessary administrative and governance arrangements to be put in place prior to the roll out of this local authority and approved housing body scheme, my Department is developing a pilot scheme with Donegal County Council on local authority homes which are impacted. My Department is also in discussion with a Donegal based Approved Housing Body with a view to involving homes from that sector in the pilot.