Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026: Motion
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Paul Lawless (AON), Mayo

I very much welcome the extension of this support to affected tenants of social housing. I have spoken to constituents in Mayo whose houses are in a shockingly bad state. Having engaged with the council, there really was nothing that could be done because they fell outside the previous scheme. The change is very welcome. There should be no difference in treatment between tenants in social homes and tenants in the private rental sector and, indeed, people who own their home, but it is fair to say there was a difference in treatment for a number of years. I certainly welcome the Minister's proposal but I urge him to prioritise the rehousing of tenants and ensuring they are looked after during this time.
I understand the Housing Agency will not be involved in the scheme. There may be some advantages to that in terms of efficiencies and so on but I have no doubt that will come with some additional burdens for local authorities. Therefore, it is very important that councils' resources are sufficient to deal with the scheme. There are some very good officials in Mayo County Council working very diligently on this, including Ms Clodagh Gleeson in the Swinford office, whose team has done Trojan work. I urge the Minister to make sure the resources are there at local authority level to engage in all the work that has to be done.

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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