Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 June 2026
110. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the changes now needed to the enhanced defective concrete block grant scheme in view of the publishing of the NSAI’s new standard I.S. 465:2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48147/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
A number of amendments contained in the Act of 2025 came into operation on 25 February 2026 and more recently further provisions commenced on 27 May 2026.
As Ireland’s official Standards Body, the National Standards Authority Ireland was tasked with the review of I.S. 465: 2018 and have recently (2 June 2026) published a revised standard, I.S. 465: 2026.
An Implementation Steering Group for the Defective Blocks Grant scheme has been in place since 2023. The Group meets regularly and keeps the scheme under review. A single item agenda meeting took place on 15 June 2026 to discuss the revised standard I.S. 465: 2026 with members of the group. A further meeting of this Group took place on 23 June 2026 where there was a focus on how best to communicate with homeowners and other key stakeholders around the possible implications of the revised standard and any associated deliberative or review processes arising.
As per Section 51 of the 2022 DCB Act, I now intend to launch a review of the operation of the Act as quickly as possible. The 2022 Act mandates that not later than 3 months after completion of this review that I, as Minister, shall make a report to each House of the Oireachtas of my findings and conclusions resulting from that review.
Matters relating to the revised standard and its impact on the grant scheme can be considered as part of the review. It would be premature to discuss any potential changes in advance of the completion of the review.
