Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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335. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the defective concrete block scheme for social housing will commence. [48592/26]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022, as amended by the Act of 2025, underpins the Grant Scheme which provides grant funding to people whose homes have been affected by Defective Concrete Blocks.

The Act also provides for the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme.

This is a scheme for the purpose of enabling a designated local authority or an Approved Housing Body with dwellings located in a designated local authority area to remedy damage caused to dwellings, owned by the local authority or Approved Housing Body, by the use of defective concrete blocks in their construction.

The manner in which the Scheme will be operationalised in practice by local authorities has been the subject of careful consideration before the Scheme can be finalised. This work is now complete, with the Scheme being developed by my Department in conjunction with relevant stakeholders.

The work of the drafting of the Scheme, by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, is underway and matters are currently being progressed by my Department. Once this process is finalised I plan to bring the Scheme to Government for approval so as to enable the remediation of social housing stock to begin in the near future.