Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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473. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if Wexford homeowners will be included in the defective blocks scheme where it is established that they have been impacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13324/23]

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, as agreed by Government on 30 November 2021, is to implement and give legislative underpinning to a series of measures to improve and enhance the current grant scheme. The Act has currently designated 4 local authorities for inclusion in the Enhanced DCB Scheme, namely Clare, Donegal, Limerick City and County and Mayo County Councils.

Section 5 of the 2022 Act contains details on the process for the inclusion of additional local authority areas into the Enhanced DCB Grant Scheme, which, it should be noted, may include a request by a local authority to the Housing Agency, and whereby the Housing Agency thereafter carries out testing of dwellings. As soon as practicable after the completion of any testing, the Housing Agency shall make a recommendation to me that an order should or should not be made by the Government to designate the whole or part of a local authority's administrative area.

The 2022 Act which contains the enhanced grant scheme will be commenced as soon as related Regulations are completed, which Regulations provide details for the enhanced scheme not included in the 2022 Act such as application forms and templates, per square metre grant rates and the definition of damage. Draft Regulations have been prepared, which are the subject of ongoing consultation with key stakeholders, including with homeowners’ action groups, which consultation must be concluded before the Regulations will be finalised and adopted in early 2023. I extended the consultation period on the draft Regulations, which commenced in February 2023, by an additional two weeks, to 14 March 2023, following receipt of requests for time extensions from Donegal County Council and Mayo County Council. The submissions received are now being reviewed and when that review is completed I will engage further with the homeowners' action groups before finalising the Regulations.

Grant rates, to be included in the final Regulations, will be based upon updated regional construction costs for 2023 provided by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). The Expert Group on defective concrete blocks will make recommendations to operationalise the SCSI report figures for 2023 before they are incorporated into the Regulations.

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 which 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/