Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
467. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when a person (details supplied) will receive the test results and remediation option for dwelling (LK_ES1381) regarding the Defective Concrete Blocks, with testing carried out on 10th December 2025. [68063/26]
View answerThe Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 as amended by the Act of 2025 sets out the framework under which the Grant Scheme which provides grant funding to people whose homes have been affected by Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) operates.
A number of amendments contained in the 2025 Act came into operation on 25 February 2026 and more recently further provisions commenced on 27 May 2026.
The Scheme is underpinned by a national testing standard known as IS:465. The National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI) on 2 June 2026 published a revised version of this standard-I.S. 465:2026.
Under the terms of the Scheme the Housing Agency acts as agent on behalf of the local authorities. Once a home has met the damage threshold for entry to the Scheme, the Housing Agency works with Chartered Engineers from an approved framework to help assess applications. This assessment includes surveys, sampling, testing and the categorisation of dwellings under the Scheme. Based on these evaluations, the Housing Agency then determines the appropriate remediation option and grant amount.
I am not in a position to comment on the testing timeframe for a specific case. For further information relating to this individual case, the Deputy may wish to contact the Housing Agency directly at the specific email address established to deal with queries from public representatives- publicreps@housingagency.ie.
