Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
398. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how long householders will have to wait to get an assessment from the Housing Agency following their application to the local authority under the building condition assessment under the enhanced defective concrete blocks scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34040/23]
View answerI commenced the the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023.
The enhanced grant scheme is now open to applications with comprehensive information of all aspects of the Scheme available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/8002e-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/
The Housing Agency act as technical agents on behalf of the local authorities under the Enhanced Grant Scheme. Applications received by a local authority will be referred to the Housing Agency to review the 'Building Condition Assessment Report' and determine if the home has met the 'damage threshold' for entry to the scheme.
Once a home has met the damage threshold for entry to the scheme, the Housing Agency will engage its Framework Chartered Engineers to undertake the assessment, survey, sampling, testing and categorisation of the dwelling thereafter on a priority basis in accordance with the national standard I.S. 465:2018 and thereafter determine the appropriate remediation option and grant amount.
The Housing Agency are committed to processing applications as expeditiously as possible. It is not possible at this stage to say with certainty the exact turnaround time for individual applications. This will depend on a number of factors including the number and nature of applications made and the complexity and severity of the cases presented.
I have set up an Implementation Steering Group, comprised of officials from the relevant local authorities, my Department, the Housing Agency, and the Homeowner's Liaison Officer. This Group will meet shortly and will keep the operation of the regulations and guidelines under review including the time taken to process applications.
