I propose to take Questions Nos. 199, 200 and 201 together.
The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 as amended by the Act of 2025 underpins the Grant Scheme which provides grant funding to people whose homes have been affected by Defective Concrete Blocks.
An Appeals Panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
The Appeals Panel is statutorily independent in the performance of their functions of myself as Minister, my Department and of the Housing Agency. My Department provides limited administrative support during the initial stage of the process, in that appeals submitted by homeowners are forwarded to the Panel.
Matters pertaining to the operation of the Panel, including the processing of appeals and determinations, would be a matter for the Chair of the Appeals Panel. It would not be appropriate for myself as Minister to make any comment on the work of the Panel.
However, I can confirm my Department wrote to the Chair of the Appeals Panel on 4 June 2026 advising him, in light of the recently revised standard I.S. 465:2026 published by the NSAI on 2 June 2026, that under Section 51 of the Act I intend to launch a review of the operation of the Act shortly. The Chair was also asked to consider how the appeals system can continue to operate in the best interests of homeowners in light of the publication of the revised IS465 standard.
