Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

We are moving on in respect of this scheme. The scheme is expected to cost in excess of €2.2 billion. Government is committed to that. That is a key fact and decision. As the Deputy will know, it is estimated that close to 3,000 homeowners are now at various stages of the scheme. That was the figure at the end of August 2025. A lot of people are engaging with the scheme and a lot of cases are being progressed. The grant rates, which were increased in 2024, are based on expert advice and are set at a level that ensures homeowners will get the money they need to put their homes right. As the Deputy will know, there have been ongoing improvements and changes. To ensure the grant scheme followed the most up-to-date science, changes were made to the scheme late in 2024 to take account of the most recent research. A forthcoming Bill will make amendments to the grant scheme to allow these changes to be implemented by the administrators of the grant scheme, which happen to be the local authorities. The Bill will also allow for an increase of up to 10% in grant rates and payments under the scheme.
The Deputy spoke about IS 465 and determinations that have been made. There is an appeals mechanism. By definition, an appeals mechanism has to be independent. The Deputy is saying that we should intervene to change the determinations. It is a statutory process under an appeals panel that is led by a senior counsel and which includes experts from the legal and engineering professions. The panel is appointed by the Minister in a clear and transparent way, which is managed on his behalf by the Public Appointments Service. It is through that service that people are selected to go on the panels. The appeals system is an independent statutory function under the defective concrete blocks Act of 2022. It has now begun to issue determinations to appellants. It has accelerated its work in recent weeks. I will alert the Minister to the fact that the Deputy has raised this issue today but I do not see an alternative to an independent statutory system to hear appeals. There has to be an objective and independent process to hear appeals in cases where people have not been allowed into the scheme. However, I will certainly alert the Minister to what the Deputy has raised.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21