I propose to take Question No 633 and Question No 634 together.
The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) was commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023.
An Appeals Panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete (DCB) Blocks Grant Scheme.
The points of appeal that are available to a DCB applicant include the validation stage by the local authority, the damage threshold determination made by the Housing Agency, the remediation option, and the grant amount approved and where a local authority refuse to make a grant payment pursuant to grant approval.
The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025 was passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and subsequently signed into law by the President on the 23 December 2025.
Local authorities have responsibility for the administration of the Scheme including administering the application process for review of approved remediation option. The 2025 amendments make provision for an application for review of approved remediation option, along with a number of other amendments to ensure equity and efficient administration of the Scheme. The related Regulations will be adopted as soon as possible and provide for all matters within the Act which require to be prescribed and will provide the finer detail around how the amendments will operate in the scheme. A date for commencement of the new provisions of the amended Act will also be set as soon as possible.
The technical review process will be informed by the current research once the full review of the national standard (I.S. 465:2018) is complete. This process provides for a review of a previous remediation option and grant amount determination and the issue of a new determination if required.
As Ireland’s official Standards Body, the National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI) has been tasked with the review of I.S. 465. In July 2025, the public consultation undertaken by the NSAI on the draft concluded and resulted in just over 640 public comments relating to the draft.
On 20 November 2025, the NSAI provided an update on the status of this review on its website, which confirms the NSAI expect the revision of I.S.465 to conclude in Q1 2026 following approval from the NSAI board.
Upon commencement of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025, the technical review process will offer certain homeowners who have been given a non-demolition option (options 2 to 5) the choice of continuing with the work on their dwelling under the option determined or the option of a full technical review of their application by the Housing Agency.
The 2025 amendments provide that periods shall be suspended from the date an application is made by a relevant owner for a technical review.
The suspension of these periods remains unless the application for an updated remediation option and remediation option grant is refused by either the Local Authority or the Housing Agency.
