Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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928. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to clearly define 'Principle Private Residence' with regards to the Mica Redress Scheme (V2); if he will disclose the legal advice from the Attorney General and/or others in relation to homeowners who have to leave their homes in County Donegal to work in other counties, or indeed, other countries; how this might affect their status and eligibility for the scheme; if it is within the law to restrict the free movement of citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38642/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I commenced the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The new scheme is now open to applications in four counties: Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Mayo with comprehensive information of all aspects of the Scheme available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/8002e-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/

The Enhanced Grant Scheme only apply to homes located in the administrative area of designated local authorities within Ireland from applicants who reside in Ireland.

The dwelling must be:

· the individual's principal private residence, that is, a house which an individual owns (or co-owns) and occupies as his or her only or main residence.

· a rented dwelling with a registered tenancy that was registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) on or before 1 November 2021 subject to a maximum of one rental property per household and the introduction of a clawback mechanism upon re-sale within a set time period depending on the remediation option used.

The term principal private residence is a commonly understood concept in legislation and the question of seeking specific legal advice on the matter did not arise.