Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government what supports are available for homeowners in Carlow with houses affected by pyrite; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29588/24]

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: .

When a local authority that is not designated under the Scheme determines through the established mechanisms that homes within their functional area have been damaged by defective concrete blocks, they can seek to have the scheme extended to include any such county or part of such county.

Section 5 of the Act contains details on this process. This statutory designation process can commence upon a request by a local authority or by myself, as Minister, to the Housing Agency. The Agency thereafter carries out technical testing of dwellings in a given local authority administrative area. As soon as practicable after the completion of any testing, the Housing Agency shall make a recommendation to me whether an order to designate the whole or part of a local authority's administrative area should or should not be made by the Government.

I understand that further to the Housing Agency meeting with Carlow County Council staff in March of this year, that the Housing Agency have now completed Building Condition Assessment Reports on a small number of damaged dwellings, with sampling and testing to commence on a small number of dwellings in July.