Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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827. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to address a number of issues in relation to the defective concrete block scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2068/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, 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.

Following the recent receipt of preliminary results from scientific research into damaged dwellings in Donegal, which claims that the underlying mechanism of damage is as a result of Internal Sulfate Attack due to presence of excessive amounts of pyrrhotite, my Department announced changes (on 7 November, 2024) to the way the scheme works for certain homeowners. These changes, mean that all homeowners who have been given a non-demolition option (option 2 to 5) will be offered a choice of continuing with the work on their dwelling under the option determined or the option of a full technical review of their application by the Housing Agency.

This review will be informed by the current research once the full review of the national standard (IS465:2018) is complete. If homeowners choose to continue with their works they continue to avail of the 40-year government guarantee. Homeowners who receive an option 1 (demolition) are unaffected by these changes. Final outputs and conclusions from research are critical in understanding the long-term risk associated with the presence of certain deleterious materials and to support the next revision of the standard.

Furthermore and as a direct result of the research findings that have come to light, I have asked the Expert Group under the Chair of Paul Forde to examine all the research completed to date and to provide advice as to the implications to the grant scheme of this research. Advice will also be sought on any potential changes that could be made to the scheme’s Ministerial Guidelines in advance of the revised I.S. 465:2018 standard.

It is important that the review progresses as quickly as possible and my Department continues to take the lead on engaging with the NSAI who will require time to assess this research and input that assessment to their ongoing review of the relevant national standard, I.S. 465:2018.

A review mechanism is provided within the 2022 Act, which provides for an increase or decrease in the overall grant scheme cap (originally set at €420,000) a year after the Act has been commenced by no more than 10%, in accordance with the conditions of Section 11 of the Act.

Following receipt of the expert group report on the scheme cap and grant rates I received Government approval, to increase the scheme cap and ancillary grants on 22 October 2024 (S.I. 577 of 2024 -) and regulations to provide for the increase in the grant rates payable under the scheme on 7 November 2024 (S.I. No. 621 of 2024 - www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=). Further information on these increases can be found on my Department’s website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/38a04-defective-concrete-blocks-rates/ . The 2022 Act provides that any increase in the scheme cap or grant rates will apply to eligible relevant owners that are yet to receive a determination from The Housing Agency in respect of their remediation option and grant amount.

Providing any change in the overall scheme cap and grant rates retrospectively requires legislative change, which is a matter for the Oireachtas and the intention is this will progress after the formation of the new Government.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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828. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on the review of the IS465 standard used for testing for defective blocks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2082/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, 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.

As Ireland’s official Standards Body, The National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI) has been tasked with the review of I.S. 465. The NSAI have published an update outlining the status of the review of I.S. 465, details of which can be found at www.nsai.ie/about/news/status-of-review-of-i.s-465-13th-december-2024/.