I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (Designation of Fingal and Wexford County Councils) (Parts of Administrative Areas) Order 2026, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 12th March, 2026. I welcome the opportunity today to outline for Members the motion to designate parts of the administrative areas of Fingal County Council and Wexford County Council under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022. During my time as Minister, I have had the opportunity to meet with many people whom the defective concrete blocks, DCB, issue affects. I have listened to their concerns directly, as well as to the issues raised by local representatives and advocacy groups on this matter. I am very much aware that while the nexus of the DCB issue is concentrated in the north west of the country, it also affects, unfortunately, numbers of houses in other parts of Ireland. Wherever it does, the Government stands ready to offer financial assistance to help people fix their homes and help them move on with their lives. It is for that reason that I am here this evening to put forward this motion which will extend the hand of assistance under the defective concrete blocks scheme to parts of two more local authorities, namely, Fingal and Wexford. The number of homes affected in both administrative areas is thankfully relatively low. While mindful of the cost involved and our responsibility to ensure taxpayer funding is appropriately spent, this Government remains committed to flexibility and fairness when it comes to dealing with the situation faced by those affected by defective concrete blocks. Section 5 of the 2022 defective concrete blocks Act provides a mechanism whereby if additional local authorities believe homes in their functional area have been damaged by defective concrete blocks, they can request inclusion in the scheme via the established mechanisms. This statutory designation process can commence following a request by a local authority, or by me as the Minister, to the Housing Agency. The Housing Agency then conducts technical testing of dwellings in each local authority administrative area. As soon as practicable after the completion of any testing, the Housing Agency makes a recommendation to me as Minister on whether an order to designate the whole or part of a local authority's administrative area should or should not be made by the Government. Both Fingal County Council and Wexford County Council, along with the Housing Agency, have now completed this process. The Housing Agency provided me with detailed reports and laboratory test results confirming the Housing Agency’s recommendation to me that an order be made under section 5(9) of the Act designating a part of Fingal County Council's and Wexford County Council's administrative areas as being covered by the DCB scheme. The areas covered in Fingal are Ballyboughal, Lusk, Rush and Skerries and total 39 dwellings. The areas covered in Wexford cover Bunclody and Enniscorthy, with one dwelling in each location. Damage to dwellings within both administrative areas confirms there are dwellings exhibiting the typical defects as identified in the standard that underpins the DCB scheme, IS 465. Some of the typical defects encountered include disintegrated blocks and pattern-like cracking. The damage is evident to dwellings at various different locations across the local authority areas. Looking briefly to the past, Deputies will recall that the first defective concrete blocks grant scheme, often referred to as the 90-10 scheme, came into effect in January 2020 and included counties Donegal and Mayo. Building on the work of that scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June. The Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on 23 July 2022. This current scheme included an unprecedented suite of improvements and I believe it still represents the largest state intervention in addressing defective concrete buildings anywhere in the world, with the scheme estimated to cost approximately €2.2 billion, excluding inflation. Changes introduced by the original legislation include a Government guarantee in regard to remediation works other than full demolition and rebuild through eligibility for a second grant, if required, for a period of 40 years; provision of alternative accommodation costs, storage costs and immediate repairs; a key role for the Housing Agency; the extension of the scheme to Clare and Limerick; the introduction of an appeals panel; and the increased scheme cap and grant rates. In 2024, the grant scheme cap was increased again by the maximum permitted of 10% to €462,000, along with an increase in the scheme grants rates. Sligo County Council also became the fifth area to be designated under the scheme in 2024. I now propose to add parts of the administrative areas of Fingal and Wexford local authorities under the scheme. The designation brought forward today aims to further improve access to the grant scheme for impacted homeowners in these areas. I believe the designation will go a long way to address the needs raised by the homeowners in their correspondence with my Department. The draft motion today follows on from the recent DCB amendment Act 2025, which was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in December last. Deputies will recall some of the main provisions of that Act which will also assist homeowners in the newly designated areas of Fingal and Wexford. The Act widened the group of relevant owners who can avail of the recent increases in the grant scheme cap and rates. It also extended the time within which homeowners can complete the works to their houses. These necessary changes were as a direct result of the continuous engagement by my Department and the local authority sector with homeowners. It illustrates our commitment to continuous engagement and improvement when it comes to this significant scheme. The memo for Government on the general scheme for the DCB Bill in June 2022 noted the cost estimate for the scheme as €2.2 billion, excluding inflation. Provision was made within the cost estimate for the homes thought to be impacted and eligible for grant assistance within the counties of Donegal and Mayo and the likely number of impacted homes if the scheme were to be extended to counties Clare, Limerick, Sligo and Tipperary. Given the possibility that the spread of impacted homes could be wider than these six counties ,and to be prudent, an additional 1,100 homes are included in the overall 7,500 estimate of the number of homes expected to be eligible for grant assistance, which informs the estimate. My Department keeps all aspects of the scheme under continuous review and I am conscious that since this estimate was made, new information has come to light from the local authority sector and others that means this costing has to be looked at again. This process is in progress now within the Department. The cost implications of the inclusion of Fingal and Wexford is based on the reports I have received and is difficult to estimate with a high degree of accuracy. However, based on the average cost of remediation under the scheme currently - albeit in different and lower-cost areas of the country - and the likely number of dwellings affected, an approximate cost of €15.5 million is predicted. It is important to note that this will be incurred over a number of years so the cost in any one year will, in the context of the overall scheme cost, be minimal and will not involve any additional requests for funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation at this time. I will conclude for now by saying that while I am satisfied that the scheme is delivering for many homeowners in affected counties, with more than €235 million spent on the scheme to date, I remain acutely aware that it needs be closely monitored and changed as our experience and knowledge of this complex issue develops. The motion to extend the scheme to more affected areas is reflective of this commitment. This motion, if passed, will bring the total number of counties designated under the scheme to seven. It builds on the Government funding for DCB work that continues to be provided as and when required on an annual basis, with a record €175 million allocated to fund the scheme in 2026. I have met with various stakeholders throughout my time as Minister, including representatives from action groups, along with a large number of county councillors, from all parties and none, and senior management of local authorities. Each group raised important matters including the need to extend the eligibility of the scheme to more administrative areas. I know that many adjustments, such as this designation, are essential interventions. I place on record my appreciation for the collaboration we have had to this stage with members of the local authorities in assisting us in progressing this as it is urgently required. I want to ensure that homeowners receive the help that they need. I believe today’s motion is another key step in further assisting homeowners and, with the support of the Houses, I hope to have this progressed very shortly. I look forward to hearing the contributions from Deputies on this matter.

Sentiment score: 0.09

I thank all Members for their valuable contributions. I welcome the support for the designation of parts of Fingal and County Wexford. I will work with all sides of the House to ensure this decision is now acted on promptly, if supported. I commend the motion to the House and look forward to further engagement on this issue.

Sentiment score: 0.67