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) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023.

The Act defines a relevant owner as an individual who owns, whether jointly or not, a relevant dwelling and:

• became an owner of the dwelling prior to 31 January 2020,
• inherited the dwelling on or after 31 January 2020, or
• subject to Section 9(4) of the Act, purchased the dwelling on or after 31 January 2020.

Section 9 (4) states that an individual who purchased a relevant dwelling on or after 31 January 2020, other than a dwelling in respect of which a letter of assurance has been issued, shall not be a relevant owner where he or she knew or ought to have known that defective concrete blocks were used in the construction of the dwelling.

Individuals who acquire a dwelling on or after 31 January 2020 will generally not be eligible for a grant. However, in certain limited circumstances, as an exception to the general rule, a relevant local authority may consider an application from an individual applying in good faith, on the honest belief that they either did not know, or could not have known that defective concrete blocks were used in the construction of the dwelling.

Local authorities have responsibility for the administration of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme. This includes the initial validation of applications. Detailed queries of this nature surrounding individual applications should be addressed in the first instance to the relevant local authority, in this case, Sligo County Council.