Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026: Motion
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Rory Hearne (SD), Dublin North-West

I support what has been said, and the Social Democrats will not be opposing the motion. We will support what has been put forward on the basis that funding is going to local authorities and AHBs but not with regard to the way in which it has been done. There are serious gaps in what has been proposed and this is a pity because there really was an opportunity here to address the significant issues with defective buildings and social housing.
There are also particular issues here. Social housing tenants are particularly vulnerable and we are dealing with a situation whereby local authorities have been absolutely and completely underfunded. Look at the basic maintenance that is not being done in local authority housing. There is a disgraceful situation with Dublin City Council and other councils whereby tenants who are in poverty, living in mould and damp, have been forced to pay ever-higher rents because the Minister has failed to fund local authorities sufficiently to undertake the maintenance that is required. This cannot be an additional cost for local authorities and AHBs. They cannot be left out of pocket in addressing this issue.
Another issue that still has not been addressed is that those who are responsible for this have not been held to account. We still do not have this and it is absolutely incredible that the cost is to the taxpayer and to those people who live in the homes and the State has not actively sought out those responsible and penalised them appropriately. There is this issue of accountability and people being left off the hook. We know that in some situations the same developers are building new homes or engaging in some of the refurbishment that is required because of what happened in the first place. Of course a lack of accountability is a fundamental problem we have in the State when issues happen and the Government does not want to interfere with the market.
The scale of this is quite significant. There could be tens of thousands of social homes affected and local authorities and AHBs will be responsible for undertaking assessments, appointing engineers and rehousing tenants. These are significant tasks that local authorities will have to take on and they will need to be resourced properly. This cannot be taken from existing maintenance budgets. We want this commitment for the scheme.
Earlier the Minister mentioned the scheme being developed in negotiation with the various stakeholders. It is very clear that while he might have met them and spoken with them, he did not listen to them, similar to the rental legislation. The Irish Council for Social Housing, which represents AHBs, sets out clearly that it is very concerned that, for example, group homes are not included. Perhaps the Minister will give clarity on this. Will there be a full and retrospective grants process? Local authorities and AHBs cannot fund any shortfall in the defects remediation, particularly preventative works. What about rehousing tenants? The local authorities and AHBs also point out the need to bring together and co-ordinate the retrofitting programmes, what is being done and, where necessary, the need to rebuild homes. The necessary funding should be provided for this. They are also concerned, as has been raised, about the revised IS 465 standard and, in particular, the issue of addressing the building as a whole rather than simply assessing the above-ground block work. Will the Minister comment on whether this is going to be addressed? There is an issue with remediation being needed in the foundations and not only in the above-ground building itself.
I echo the call for, and ask the Minister to take on, the establishment of a working group comprising full stakeholder representation, including the Department, AHBs and local authorities, as well as engineers, surveyors and architects. This highlights why we should have a State construction company. If the Minister had the vision and courage to set up a State construction company, it could be working to address some of these issues rather than having to go out again to the private sector, which is supposed to be building new homes and will now also have to do this work. We have an issue with capacity and ensuring things are done right and done to a standard whereby we will not repeat these problems. It comes back to the point that the State has to have a role in directly building homes across this country, particularly social homes, so it can ensure that high-quality homes are delivered and that we can address issues such as retrofitting and defective blocks.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23