Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-10
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James Browne (FF), Wexford

I will address amendments Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, tabled by Deputies Ó Broin, Doherty, McGettigan, Conway-Walsh and Mac Lochlainn, and amendment No. 60, tabled by Deputy Ward.
On amendment No. 5, as the Deputies are aware the defective concrete blocks grant scheme is a grant scheme of last resort to provide financial assistance to affected homeowners to remediate their homes and move on with their lives. I therefore cannot accept the amendment.
Amendment No. 6 proposes that a report on the legislative changes necessary for an end-to-end remediation scheme be laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation that details the legislative changes required to operate an end-to-end remediation scheme. The defective concrete blocks grant scheme relates to dwellings which are damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks. Under the defective concrete blocks grant scheme, there are five potential real mediation options, with a bespoke solution potentially required for each affected home and which provide solutions. Therefore, for that reason I cannot accept the amendment.
Amendment No. 7 proposes that a report on the barriers to inclusion in the scheme be laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation that sets out reforms to the defective concrete block grant scheme in order to remove potential barriers. The amendment lists the following four headings for inclusion in the report: "the operation of the damage threshold"; "the issue of semi-detached properties"; "the issue of side-by-side remediation"; and "the issue of retrospective payments". The damage threshold is an integral part of the defective concrete blocks grant scheme that is necessary to ensure homes with a minimum level of damage can access grant payments under the scheme. The Bill, primarily under sections 8 and 10, includes amendments to the principal Act to provide for the retrospective payments and these will be discussed under amendments Nos. 33 and 35. The two Committee Stage amendments covered under amendments Nos. 20 and 40 have also been brought into the debate. These amendments address issues relating to semi-detached properties and, in limited circumstances, a provision to construct an adjacent dwelling. I am not, therefore, in a position to accept the amendments.
Amendment No. 60 proposes that a report examining various matters is laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation. The amendment lists the following four headings for inclusion in the report: "international models of defective building compensation"; "the effectiveness and fairness of the charging order system"; "administrative options for reducing long-term homeowner liability without additional Exchequer cost"; and "the impact of the current scheme design on mortgageability and housing mobility". As Deputy Ward is aware, the defective concrete blocks grant scheme is not a compensation scheme. A charging order under the defective concrete block scheme for rental properties is required to help to ensure remediated properties remain available to rent once remediation works have been completed. Officials in the Department, with the assistance of various stakeholder groups, have worked over the past four years with key stakeholders to help to ensure matters relating to homes affected by defective concrete blocks with mortgages have been addressed. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:27+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10