Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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574. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when homeowners will be able to apply for redress in respect of defective concrete blocks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2061/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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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 current grant scheme, as agreed by Government on 30 November 2021. The administrative areas of the following counties have been designated by the Act for the purposes of the enhanced grant scheme: Clare County Council; Donegal County Council; Limerick City and County Council; Mayo County Council.

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. It is intended to roll out the enhanced scheme in early 2023, following consultation on the draft Regulations with key stakeholders through my appointed homeowner liaison officer.

Pending the opening of the enhanced scheme, applications can continue to be made to relevant local authorities (comprising Donegal County Council and Mayo County Council) and processed under the current Defective Concrete Block grant scheme. The current scheme is underpinned by the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations, 2020, as amended by the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2022.

The current and enhanced DCB Grant Schemesare not compensation or redress schemes. They are remediation grant schemes of last resort, put in place by Government in order to voluntarily assist homeowners to remediate damage caused by the use of defective concrete blocks.

My Department recently published a comprehensive and updated “Your Questions Answered”to ensure homeowners have the most up to date information available to them. It can be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/775c0-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme-your-questions-answered/