Amendments to the Defective Concrete Block bill has received government approval and is set to be debated in the Dail this evening.
However Deputy Charles Ward says he and other TDs only received a copy of the amendments at 10 o’clock this morning.
The changes seek to improve flexibility in the case of semi-detached houses and side-by-side builds in limited cases.
Deputy Ward says more time should have been afforded to Dáil members to properly examine the effects these changes will have for affected homeowners:
DCB Amendment Bill 2025
On 4 June 2025, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025 as a basis for priority legal drafting to provide retrospective payments for certain applicants to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
As provided for in the General Scheme of the Bill, the Bill also provides for a number of technical amendments to ensure the efficient administration of the scheme.
Main Provisions of the Bill:
Relevant owners that incurred qualifying expenditure since 29 March 2024 that was unpaid due to them reaching the maximum scheme cap in place at the time of €420,000 will be able to apply to their designated local authority to have a new remediation option grant amount determined in line with the increased scheme cap and rates provided for under the scheme in October and November 2024. Upon receipt of this new grant amount relevant owners will be able to submit unpaid invoices for consideration and payment to their designated local authority in line with their new grant amount.
Relevant owners who were given a non-demolition option (option 2 to 5) and that are yet to commence works or ceased works on site as at 6 November 2024 will be able to apply to their designated local authority for a technical review of their determined remediation option and grant amount upon publication of the revised national standard I.S.465.
Relevant owners who have reached the maximum scheme grant cap under the Act cannot apply for ancillary grants. The amendment will allow these cohort to apply for ancillary grants while still ensuring the overall total payment to the homeowner remains within the grant scheme allowable amounts.
The Act does not allow a person who does not satisfy the definition of a “relevant owner” to become a relevant owner where he or she is, or was, in a relationship with a relevant owner. The amendment will facilitate this for married couples, those in a civil partnership or co-habiting.
The Act applies time limits of 65 weeks to complete remediation works upon commencement and a requirement to apply 12 weeks in advance of this expiry period to seek a further extension of the 65 weeks by a maximum of an additional 24 weeks. The amendment will increase the time to complete works from 65 to 130 weeks and reduce the application time from 12 weeks to 2 weeks for an extension.
The Act allows the sharing of certain information with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) by designated local authorities where it is necessary and proportionate. In order to assist the SEAI ensure it does not double fund payments it makes under its energy retrofit scheme to DCB scheme applicants the amendment will allow the SEAI share information with designated local authorities.
The Bill will allow the creation of a second charge on RTB properties where the relevant owners receives additional funding under the retrospective element.
