Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-16
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James Browne (FF), Wexford

I understand the Senators have moved amendment No. 22 to ensure that no homeowner is denied access to the scheme on the basis that their dwelling is not located in a designated local authority area. Section 5 of the principal Act contains a pathway for other local authority areas to gain access to the scheme as required. Indeed, further local authority areas are soon to be designated under the scheme using this pathway. This process has worked for Sligo which was designated under the scheme last year. Subject to Government approval, I will partly designate two further local authorities very shortly.
Furthermore, section 51 of the principal Act already contains provisions with timelines to undertake a review of the operation of the Act. This review must begin by July 2026, which is two years after the Act was commenced in 2023.
Regarding amendment No. 23, as Senators will be aware, the defective concrete blocks grant scheme information is not a compensation scheme and the charge of order under the defective concrete blocks grant scheme for rental properties is required to help ensure remediated properties remain available to rent once remediation works are completed. Officials in the Department, with the assistance of various stakeholder groups, have worked in recent years with key stakeholders to help to ensure that matters relating to homes affected by defective concrete blocks with mortgages have been addressed.
For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendments.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16