Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
411. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether Wexford County Council will become a designated local authority under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 and the regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39592/23]
View answerI commenced the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The new scheme is now open to applications in four counties: Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Mayo with comprehensive information of all aspects of the Scheme available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/8002e-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/ .
Section 5 of the Act contains details on the process for the inclusion of additional local authority areas into the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) Grant Scheme. This statutory designation process can commence upon a request by a local authority or by myself, as Minister to the Housing Agency, and whereby the Agency thereafter carries out technical testing of dwellings in a given local authority administrative area. As soon as practicable after the completion of any testing, the Housing Agency shall make a recommendation to me whether an order to designate the whole or part of a local authority's administrative area should or should not be made by the Government.
My Department had some engagement directly with Wexford County Council on this issue earlier this year where the formal process for the entry of a new local authority into the DCB scheme was set out.
