Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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495. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if an appeals process is in place for homeowners who wish to appeal the awards they have received under the defective concrete block scheme, are appeals currently being assessed; the estimated timeline for appeals from the date of submission to the date of decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31836/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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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.

It should be noted that the Appeals Panel is statutorily independent in the performance of their functions of myself as Minister, my Department and of the Housing Agency. Timelines for the processing of appeals would be a matter for the Chair and the Panel. My Department provides limited administrative support during the initial stage of the process, in that appeals submitted by homeowners are forwarded to the Panel.

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.