Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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216. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will agree to Donegal County Council's request for more families in County Donegal to be able to avail of the ancillary grants (details supplied) in advance of the commencement of the enhanced scheme on humanitarian grounds. [14408/23]

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 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 provided sanction to Donegal County Council in December 2022 to release ancillary funding grants of €15,000 for alternative accommodation and €5,000 for storage on an administrative basis to the cohort of householders in Donegal, as identified by the Council, whose houses had become uninhabitable due to use of DCB in their construction, in advance of the commencement of the 2022 Act.

Donegal County Council has made contact with my Department seeking sanction for additional payments to be made to another cohort of homeowners in advance of the commencement of the 2022 Act. This matter is being considered currently and Donegal County Council will be advised as soon as possible.

My Department has published an updated “Your Questions Answered” document on the Department’s website to ensure homeowners have the most up to date information available to them for the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks scheme. It can be accessed at www.gov.ie/en/publications/775c0-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme-your-questions-answered/.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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217. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he and his Department will urgently find a solution to a serious problem (details supplied) that has arisen for some homeowners who have commenced the demolition and rebuild of their homes under the existing defective concrete block grant scheme. [14409/23]

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 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.

The 2022 Act provides for transitional arrangements from the Current to the Enhanced Grant Scheme. In respect of applicants who have received a confirmation of eligibility from the relevant local authority under the current scheme (stage 1 approval) and grant approval (stage 2), the designated local authority shall recalculate the grant rates provided for in the enhanced scheme and ensure that any amendment to the grant rates is notified to the homeowner and that the homeowner may then submit a remedial works plan to the designated local authority in line with the enhanced scheme. There may be instances where the remediation grant approval under the enhanced scheme is less than the grant rate approved under the current scheme, however the Act provides that the enhanced grant rate will not be amended if it was lower than the original/current grant rate.

A homeowner will now also be eligible to apply for ancillary grants for alternative accommodation and storage in accordance with Section 10(2) of the Act of 2022.

With respect to individual cases, each relevant designated local authority has responsibility for the detailed administration within its administrative area of the current DCB Grant scheme, and the Enhanced DCB Grant scheme upon its commencement. This includes the assessment of applications for validity and payment of grants, including stage payments, to successful applicants under the specific remediation option approved. Any queries relating to the scheme, and particularly relating to ongoing applications in the current scheme, should be addressed directly to the local authority in this regard.

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/