Defective Building Materials

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021

Tuesday, 21 September 2021

Questions (263)

Peter Fitzpatrick

Question:

263. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a person (detailed supplied) is included in the national defective concrete blocks grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44601/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The regulations for the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme came into operation on 31 January 2020. The Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020 provide for a grant scheme of financial assistance to support affected homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo only, to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks. The Scheme opened for applications at the end of June 2020.

The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is not a national scheme and is currently limited to the counties of Donegal and Mayo. My Department is in ongoing engagement with a number of local authorities and local action groups on requests for an extension of the scheme to their counties. The county referred to has not sought from my Department admittance to the defective concrete blocks grant scheme. In consequence the person named is not an applicant or eligible to apply under the current scheme.

Separately, I have established a time bound working group with representatives from the Department, the local authorities and homeowner representative groups, to review and address any outstanding issues in relation to the operation of the Defective Concrete Block Grant Scheme. The terms of reference for this group include issues such as grant caps, eligible homes and the role of responsible parties and financial institutions etc. I expect this review to be completed by the end of September, and it will help inform any proposed improvements to the Scheme which I will bring forward to Government in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Attorney General.