Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to hear views of affected homeowners, experts and Housing officials on Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022

The meetings follow a decision of the Committee last week to hold the discussions as part of its considerations of the request from the Minister to waive Pre-Legislative Scrutiny on the Bill.

The meeting at 1pm in Committee Room 1 of Leinster House will be split into three sessions.

• 1pm-3pm – Representatives of Mica Action Group Donegal, Clare Pyrite Action Group, and Mayo Pyrite Action Group.
• 3.30pm-5.30pm – Representatives from the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland (SCSI) and Engineer’s Ireland (EI), and Paul Forde, Chair of Expert Working Group.
• 6pm-8pm – Officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and representatives of the Housing Agency.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Steven Matthews said: “Given the urgency of this Bill and given that the Bill will be published in advance of Committee consideration of the General Scheme, the Committee has agreed that it is not possible to undertake Pre-Legislative Scrutiny.

“However, to assist the Committee in scrutinising the legislation in advance of its passage through the Oireachtas we agreed to hold three public meetings at which affected homeowners, experts, and the Department officials will discuss the content of the Bill with the Committee.

“The Committee looks forward to hearing the views on this Bill of affected homeowners in Donegal, Clare and Mayo; experts from the SCSI and EI and Mr Forde as chair of the Working Group; and the officials from the Department and Housing Agency. The Committee retains the right to communicate its view of the Bill to the Minister following these meetings.”

The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 1 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.