Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
745. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures that are in place to ensure that social homes owned by both local authorities and approved housing bodies, are included in any scheme where defective concrete blocks might appear in different local authorities throughout the country. [41280/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President.
The purpose of this Act is to implement and give legislative underpinning to a series of measures to improve and enhance the scheme as agreed by Government on 30 November 2021. Full details can be found at www.gov.ie/en/press-release/328d7-minister-obrien-welcomes-progress-on-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/.
Included as part of these improvements, I may, with Government approval, extend the scheme to additional counties, where the evidence supports such an extension. Any consideration of an extension to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grants Scheme would, in the first instance, require the relevant local authority to conduct the same rigorous analysis as that was carried out in Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick.
I will, by regulation, introduce a parallel scheme for local authority and Approved Housing Body owned social homes with similar funding arrangements to that available under the enhanced scheme for private homeowners. In order to inform the necessary administrative and governance arrangements to be put in place prior to the roll out of this scheme my Department has agreed with Donegal County Council to run a pilot scheme on thirty to forty local authority homes which are impacted and currently vacant. My Department is also in discussion with a Donegal based Approved Housing Body to seek to involve homes from that sector in the pilot.
