Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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755. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the proposed amendments to the current enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme will be enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29220/25]

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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759. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government , if he will confirm that the ongoing National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) review and its findings of the IS465 standard relating to deleterious materials will form part of the proposed amendment to the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022; if so, the mechanisms that will be available to homeowners/applicants who have received their remedial option grants to undertake additional works that may be required from the findings of the NSAI review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29224/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 755 and 759 together.

The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023.

In November 2024 following the receipt of preliminary results from scientific research in Donegal, my Department announced changes to the way the scheme works for certain homeowners. All homeowners who have been given a non-demolition option (options 2 to 5) have been 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 (I.S. 465:2018) is complete.

As Ireland’s official Standards Body, The National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI) has been tasked with the review of I.S. 465:2018. On 31 March 2025 the NSAI commenced the public consultation period of the revised draft of I.S. 465:2018. This public consultation in relation to I.S. 465:2018 is currently underway and has been extended to 11 July 2025. This milestone follows on from the Government Decision of November 2021 and funding by the state into the required research for the NSAI to undertake its work on revising the standard. Upon conclusion of the public consultation period the NSAI will finalise its review and publish the revised standard.

I can confirm I received Government approval (on 4 June, 2025) for the priority drafting of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill. Along with details of the wider group of relevant owners that can avail increases in the grant scheme cap and rates approved in October and November 2024 the Bill will also include a number of technical amendments. This will include an amendment to allow the Housing Agency, upon request of an applicant to the designated local authority, to carry out a review of previous remediation option and grant amount determination based on the provisions of the revised standard upon its publication. This legislation will be prioritised and progressed as expeditiously as possible

It is not possible to pre-empt the outcome of the NSAI review of I.S. 465:2018 and therefore its findings will not form part of the proposed amendments to the forthcoming legislation. However, a review of the operation of the Act is required to commence within three months of the completion of any review of I.S. 465:2018.

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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758. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if, given the current enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme and proposed amendment, homeowners/applicants who may have missed the appeal timeline and have not yet commenced works have the option of withdrawing their application; and making a re-application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29223/25]

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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760. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of appeals awaiting decision under the current enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme; the length of time taken for appeals to be decided to date, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29225/25]

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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761. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if, given the length of time the appeals process is taking, a homeowner/applicant who has made an appeal under the current enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme can progress with works while that appeal is underway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29226/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 758, 760 and 761 together.

The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) was commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023.

The Appeals Panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete (DCB) Blocks Grant Scheme. The Panel offers those affected by decisions made by the Housing Agency and Local Authorities an opportunity to have their cases assessed by an independent group of industry experts.

The points of appeal that are available to a DCB applicant include the validation stage by the local authority, the damage threshold determination made by the Housing Agency, the remediation option, and the grant amount approved and where a local authority refuse to make a grant payment pursuant to grant approval.

Should an appellant submit an appeal after the 90 day limit it would be up to the Chair of the Appeals Panel to decide on if the appeal can be accepted for further consideration or not.

A relevant owner can also reapply to the grant scheme at a future date, noting the stipulation laid down at Section 13(2)(xiii) of the Act stating that that they must provide “a copy of any previous application made under this section or under the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 25 of 2020)”.

Section 19(1)(ii) of the Act states “a payment may only be made to a relevant owner under section 18 where the relevant owner has made an appeal under Part 5 in respect of a decision under section 16(4), and the Appeal Board has under section 39 affirmed the decision or annulled the decision and replaced the decision with such other decision as it considers appropriate, the date of the decision of the Appeal Board to affirm or annul and replace the decision”. A relevant owner who has submitted an appeal to the Appeals Panel can continue to progress with remediation works during the time their appeal is being considered by the Panel however the designated local authority cannot release any payment to that relevant owner until such time the Appeals Panel have made a final decision on their appeal.

At the time of writing 171 appeals have been received from homeowners. A breakdown showing appeals received from relevant owners, by designated local authority, is available in the table below:

I understand that the Panel has begun the process of assessing appeals and it is expected the Chair of the Appeals Panel will issue notifications to appellants in due course.