Minister for Housing, Heritage and Local Government, James Browne, has secured Cabinet approval to introduce retrospective payments under the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, marking a significant step forward for affected homeowners.
Legislation will now be fast-tracked to ensure that homeowners who have incurred eligible costs under the scheme since 29 March 2024 can benefit from the increased grant amounts announced in late 2023.
Last October, the Government raised the maximum grant available under the scheme by 10%—from €420,000 to €462,000. Additionally, the per square metre rates used to calculate grant amounts were also increased in November 2024, with rises ranging from 7.4% to 8.7%. Until now, however, these increases only applied to homeowners who had not yet received a determination for remediation and grant approval.
Under Minister Browne’s proposal, eligibility for the higher amounts will now be extended to homeowners who previously missed out, ensuring those impacted by rising construction costs are not unfairly excluded.
Minister Browne stated:
“I made it a priority to visit the north west and met with some of the homeowners impacted by the use of defective concrete blocks in the construction of their homes, as well as advocacy groups and local representatives.
I witnessed at first-hand the difficulties faced by these affected households in financial and personal terms in recent years. The improvements I am introducing today will secure fairness, ensuring every eligible homeowner can now access the improved financial support from the government, irrespective of their original remediation and grant determination date. It had to be sorted.”
The proposed legislation will also include a number of key amendments to improve the scheme's functionality, including:
Side-by-side construction: The scheme will, in limited and specific cases, support the construction of a new home adjacent to the original defective property.
Extended timeframe to complete works: The allowable period for completing remediation will be increased from 65 weeks to 130 weeks, and the required advance notice for extensions will be reduced from 12 weeks to 2 weeks.
Minister Browne added:
“I have listened to homeowners in the region and heard the particular challenges they have faced with certain elements of the scheme. I believe the package of measures we intend to bring forward through legislation will address some of the concerns raised so that homeowners will continue to have confidence in the scheme and know that they are being supported by the government.”
The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is designed to assist homeowners in Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Mayo, and Sligo, whose homes were constructed with defective concrete blocks. To date, more than 2,500 applications have been submitted under the scheme.
