James Browne
Wexford · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I cannot accept amendments Nos. 10 and 11. The interpretation of "lawfully resident" and "habitually resident" is construed in accordance with section 20A, which sets out the new residency requirements for social housing applicants.”
“The safety net provision is to be provided by the local authority on a night-to-night basis, and this is to allow local authorities to reassess the circumstances each day to determine whether the safety net should still be provided.”
“I cannot accept amendment No. 21. This amendment proposes the introduction of a social housing passport allowing households to transfer between local authority areas while retaining their original waiting list or transfer list position. The amendment as it stands is well-intentioned.”
“No one factor is intended to be decisive and it is not necessary for a person to score strongly on all five factors outlined in section 20A(7) in order to get a positive decision. However, the local authority decision-maker must be confident that there is strong evidence that it is the applicant's main centre of interest.”
“In relation to Senator McCarthy’s amendment, while it was a very well intentioned and constructed amendment, it has been disallowed. It was not my decision on those matters. I am satisfied the safeguards and safety net are there for those who are not entitled by way of legal or habitual residence.”
“In practical terms, if an Irish citizen has severed ties abroad and has decided to return home, the process of establishing habitual residency could be determined from day one.”
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“The changes also introduce a process for the application for a regularisation fire safety design certificate to replace the currently named regularisation certificate. Section 32 makes transitional provisions in relation to the renaming of certificates. Section 33 amends section 7 of the Building Control Acts to provide for the appeal of a decision of a building control authority on an application for a regularisation fire safety design certificate and other consequential amendments.”
“This section also provides for a regularisation process for the uncommon situation whereby works which have commenced or been completed in respect of a building without submitting, by either act or omission, an appropriate valid notice to the building control authorities in certain circumstances. The regularisation process will be detailed in the new building control regulations and will only facilitate works that are in compliance with the building regulations. Separately, this section also amends the names of certain building control certificates issued under the Building Control Acts to better reflect their purpose. For example the section changes fire safety certificates to fire safety design certificates and disability access certificates to access and use design certificates.”
“It facilitates the provision of information in respect of systems installed in a building in order to provide the end user with the information necessary to support the efficient and effective operation and use of the building after completion. Section 31 amends section 6, building control regulations, of the Building Control Acts and provides explicit powers for the Minister to prevent a building being opened, operated or occupied until such a time as the particulars of the relevant certificate of compliance on completion have been entered on the register maintained by the building control authority, where such a document is required by regulation. This underpins the strengthening of building control regulations in 2014, introduced in response to the then emerging defects in construction.”
“The Acts provide for the making of building regulations and building control regulations and set out the legislative basis for the system of enforcement. The main objective of the amendments is to underpin, extend and strengthen the system of building control enforcement to support compliance with the building regulations. The main provisions of the amendments are contained in a new Part 3 of the Bill. I draw the House's attention to the key changes and main provisions of the amendments to the Building Control Acts in the Bill. Section 29 contains provisions dealing with definitions. Section 30 amends section 3 of the Building Control Acts and introduces an additional power, for which the Minister may make building regulations.”
“The proposed amendments to the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020 follow on from the general scheme, approved by Government on 30 January 2024, pre-legislative scrutiny that took place on 23 April 2024, and the advice of the Attorney General, and further reflects the decision made by Government on 2 December 2025 to proceed as part of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025. On Second Stage of the Bill, on 2 December, I signalled my intention to bring forward a number of amendments to the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020. By way of background, the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020 provide for the regulation of the design and construction of buildings in order to ensure the safety, health and welfare of people within the built environment.”
“The purpose of this motion is to instruct the Dáil, in committee, in accordance with Standing Order 241(2), to provide that the committee has the power to make amendments to the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025 that are outside the existing subject matter of the Bill. This is required so that I can introduce Government amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage.”
“I move: That Standing Order 194 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 241(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Committee in relation to the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025, that the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bill in order to make amendments to the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020, in order to provide for: a) the submission of Certificates of Compliance on Completion prior to the opening, operation or occupation of a building; b) a regularisation process for certain works and buildings; c) the conferring on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the power to make regulations relating to enforcement notices; d) the withdrawal of an enforcement notice; e) the opening up of works in certain limited circumstances; f) the issuing of a warning letter; g) the extension of the powers of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make building regulations; and h) the change of names of certain certificates issued under that Act; and to make other consequential amendments required to take account of the changes above.”
“I move: That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 27th November, 2025, be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in accordance with Standing Order 103(5), which, not later than 17th December, 2025, shall send a message to the Dáil in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 110, and Standing Order 109(2) shall accordingly apply.”
“While the regulations before the House are very technical, what we effectively did was allow local authorities to commence variations under the existing 2000 Act as that is what they are familiar with, rather than commence the rest of Part 3 of the 2024 Act. As they have in some cases commenced certain variations, we need to have a transitional measure put in so that those variations that have commenced will not have to be restarted again when the rest of Part 3 of the 2024 Act commences. It is in the interest of the efficiency and effectiveness of our local authorities so that they can do what is necessary in terms of rezoning.”
“Finally, if the proposed regulations are approved by positive resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas, as required under section 4 of the Act of 2024, the intention is to have the regulations signed into law at the earliest opportunity to prepare for the commencement of Chapters 5 and 6 of Part 2 of the Act of 2024.”
“It is also important to note that this enabling provision should not be considered pioneering or innovative, nor is the use of such a provision. Similar provisions are already found across the Statute Book empowering the Minister of the day to introduce necessary regulations to remove a difficulty with respect to the bringing into operation of a legislative provision. Examples of where such power have been used include section 2(2) of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2024 and section 3 of the Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Act 2013. To conclude, the purpose of the proposed regulations is to facilitate measures that are being undertaken to assist in the provision of additional zoned land for residential development. I commend our proposed regulations to the House.”
“In the case of proposed regulations, necessary modifications are required to remove a difficulty that prevents bringing subsection (2) of section 69 and subsection (6A) of section 81 into operation in the intended manner. For further safeguard use of subsection (6) of section 4, following constructive discussion on Committee Stage, an additional requirement was inserted into the Planning and Development Bill 2023 that will ensure a positive resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas was required before any draft regulations could be signed by the Minister. That additional safeguard is the reason we are here tonight. I see this as a prudent and sensible step in the process of enabling modifications to be made to the Act of 2024 in order to bring it into operation in the manner intended.”
“While the proposed regulations are technical in nature, they are an important component of the wider commencement process for the Act of 2024. I would like to give assurance to the House regarding the application of the specific legislative provision under which the proposed regulations are to be made, if approved, and to draw attention to the inherent safeguards that are provided for in that enabling provision. Section 4(6) of the Act of 2024 allows the Minister of the day to make regulations to remove a difficulty that arises with respect to bringing a provision of the Act of 2024 into operation. In relation to the operation of any such provision, such regulations may modify the provision in question insofar as it may be necessary or expedient to carry such provision into effect.”
“This was done for the single purpose of implementing the housing growth requirement guidelines as expeditiously as possible. As a result, some of Part 3 was commenced in October, while the rest of Part 3 will come into operation at the end of this month. The proposed regulations are, therefore, necessary in order to change the operative date from October to December for a transitional provision relating to development plans variations that were initiated under the 2000 planning Act. They make a technical and straightforward modification to section 69(2) of the Act of 2024 to align the transitional provisions with the commencement of the development plan provisions under the Act of 2024. The proposed regulations also make a similar modification to section 81 of the Act of 2024 with respect to the making and amending of local area plans.”
“Subsequent to this is a revision of the national planning framework in April this year. Housing growth requirement guidelines were issued to local authorities that set out the housing demand scenario in the State up to the year 2040. These guidelines translated the national planning framework housing requirements into estimated average annual figures for each local authority. While it was originally intended to bring all of Part 3 of the Act of 2024 into operation in October this year to complete the new legislative foundation for development plans and area plans, upon discussions with stakeholders and local authority representatives, the decision was made to stagger the commencement of Part 3 to help facilitate the urgent variation of development plans using the familiar processes and provisions of the 2000 planning Act.”
“The next groups of provisions will be brought into operation at the end of this month at which point more legislation will have been commenced under the Act of 2024 than was contained in the entire 2000 planning Act after its enactment on 28 August 2000. To follow on from the good progress that has been made this year, as we move into 2026, the third phase of commencement is set to proceed. This will provide for a range of important provisions, such as development consents, architectural heritage and enforcement matters. Going back to the proposed regulations, it is important to highlight that the ongoing phased commencement of the Act of 2024 and the corresponding repeal of the 2000 planning Act is a complex task and one that must continue to be responsive to Government policy and to stakeholder needs.”
“On 2 October 2025, Chapters 1 to 4 of Part 3 were commenced and provided the new legislative basis for the national planning framework and regional and spatial economic strategies, as well as introducing the national planning statements that will be used to set up policy and provide guidance in relation to planning matters. As things stand, 133 sections of the Act of 2024 have now been brought fully into operation and that means almost 50% more legislation has now been brought into effect from the first year of the Act of 2024 compared to the first year of the implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2000.”
“The commencement of the substantive planning provisions of the Act of 2024 began on 9 June 2025. Both Chapters 1 and 2 of Part 22 came into operation providing for the identification of suitable sites for urban development zones. On 18 June 2025, the commencement of Part 17 was completed, which provided for the establishment for An Coimisiún Pleanála, and on 1 August 2025, Chapter 1 of Part 9 was commenced, which introduced provisions for reformed planning during judicial review alongside section 180 to provide for the suspension of the duration of a planning permission during judicial review proceedings.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development Act 2024 (Modification) Regulations 2025, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 18th November, 2025. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the draft regulations and set out the rationale and reasoning behind their development. First, I wish to take this opportunity to provide a brief update on the ongoing phased commencement of the Act of 2024. As Deputies will be aware, the Act of 2024 represents the most comprehensive review of planning legislation since 2000 and spearheads the ongoing reform and streamlining of the planning system without there being reduced delays in housing development and other critical infrastructure projects.”
“This will be done within the context of investing in our towns, villages and cities recognising the importance of community in people’s daily lives. Through the implementation of Housing for All, we have learned that there is no single solution to the challenges we face. The answer lies in a suite of complementary actions across a broad number of areas. Delivering Homes, Building Communities provides a clear roadmap for the action that now needs to be taken. The state will continue to play a critical role, investing unprecedented levels of public money in the delivery of housing. We will continue to consider every lever at our disposal to increase supply. We remain steadfast in our commitment to meet the challenges head on and ensure all those aspiring own their own home will be able to realise their aspiration.”
“This plan is focused on supporting people to get a home and the Government has committed to record levels of direct funding for housing to support this. In 2026 alone, over €9 billion capital funding will be provided through the Exchequer, LDA and Housing Finance Agency. This funding is targeting never before seen levels of social homes and affordable supports. An average of 12,000 new build social homes and 15,000 affordable home supports each year to 2030. This will provide real homes and supports for individuals and families right across the country who are currently struggling to secure a home of their own. We will also continue to work with our stakeholders to revise, expand and improve the range of affordability supports in place for home ownership and cost rental.”
“This is in addition to the €50 million already announced for 2025. We will also develop a child and family homelessness action plan and a whole-of-government homelessness prevention framework. Both will allow for a co-ordinated approach to addressing the root causes of homelessness. I also want to detail some of the action the Government is taking to support our ageing population. Providing housing for older people is very important to this Government. We will develop an action plan to increase the delivery of housing for older people. The action plan will focus on increasing the delivery of social homes for older people, increasing delivery of more suitable homes for older people in private housing and will increase choice for those who wish to rightsize.”
“I will also continue to work with the national homeless action committee to ensure a whole-of-government approach is taken in everything we do to address homelessness. The single biggest intervention we can make as a Government is to deliver increased levels of social homes. An additional 72,000 social homes will make a big difference. We will also work with each local authority to examine how the allocations of these new social homes will best address the needs of households experiencing homelessness and, in particular, families with children. On top of this, Delivering Homes, Building Communities includes a number of additional measures that the Government will take to address homelessness, including the provision of an extra €100 million capital funding in 2026 to support the exit of families longest in emergency accommodation.”
“It is focused on tackling homelessness, protecting children and families, increasing social and affordable housing output and strengthening protections for those renting. It supports homeownership - giving new buyers a chance to put down roots, while revitalising villages, towns and cities. I am acutely aware of the profound impact homelessness has on individuals, particularly children, and addressing homelessness is a key priority under Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This includes measures to prevent homelessness, support people experiencing homelessness and support people to exit homelessness. As part of this plan I felt it was essential to reaffirm my, and the Government’s, commitment to the Lisbon declaration and working towards ending homelessness by 2030.”
“Affordable housing bodies also play an invaluable role in housing delivery that complements local authority social and affordable home delivery, helping to address acute housing needs, including for many of our most vulnerable citizens. They have been responsible for approximately 50% of all social and affordable delivery over the past four years. The Government is committed to strengthening capacity and specialism in the AHB sector to increase delivery. This will include, among other things, supporting a restructuring and consolidation of the sector, addressing legacy impediments and providing greater clarity of the required social and affordable housing delivery by AHBs through local authority housing delivery action plans. The second pillar, supporting people, is aimed at supporting people to get a home.”
“This will ensure there is additional dedicated housing expertise in every local authority. These teams will be solely focused on the delivery of new homes. They will be afforded the opportunity to develop own build projects, problem solving as they go while developing a strong pipeline of future social and affordable homes. They will be recognised for over-performance to incentivise delivery of the 72,000 new social homes by 2030. We will also put in place measurements and publish data to illustrate how everybody contributes. Every part of society has a role to play. The housing crisis affects us all and solving it will need everyone to act together.”
“The LDA has been further capitalised by €2.5 billion. This will support a significantly expanded role. In addition to over 2,000 homes already delivered, the agency is working on a pipeline of a further 27,000 new homes on over 40 sites. Local authorities will be supported as well. A number of measures detailed in the plan will ensure the delivery of record levels of social homes and affordable housing supports by local authorities. A new single stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million will support them to increase and accelerate the delivery of new homes. The Government will also support and fully fund local authorities to establish ring-fenced new build teams that are fully focused on delivering new social and affordable homes.”
“Increasing skills and enabling wider adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC, is a critical aspect to achieve this and support the delivery of high-quality housing with reduced delivery times and reduced costs. In addition, while housing need is so critical, addressing vacancy and dereliction remains a key priority of the Government under Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The plan commits to bringing homes back into use through the vacant property refurbishment grant and the introduction of a new derelict sites tax, administered and collected by the Revenue Commissioners. As I have outlined, the Government will lead with record investment and strong direction, but success also depends on local authorities, the Land Development Agency, LDA, approved housing bodies, AHBs, and the private sector playing their part.”
“The Government is also committed to creating the best possible conditions for the industry to build and to activate more homes. We have not waited until the publication of this plan to get on with the work. Since coming to office, the Government has delivered a revised national planning framework, NPF, enabling the zoning of significantly more land. We have introduced reform of RPZs and revised apartment standards, both of which will make apartment building more viable. Working across government, Delivering Homes, Building Communities also involves measures to boost construction capacity and skills. The scale, quality, speed, efficiency and sustainability of the construction industry must be at the highest levels to meet national housing projections.”
“We can all agree that an effective planning system remains a critical piece of the solution. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is not only tackling the barriers in the planning system, but also those in the legal system, regulation and procurement. We will free-up the private sector to provide homes at much greater scale by providing more zoned and serviced land for housing right across the country. The full implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024 will be another game-changer for the wider housing system. It will provide certainty to all practitioners but particularly developers. Having set timelines for decisions allows developers to better manage projects. This, in turn, will have positive impacts on the cost of housing development.”
“This is a significant amount of cost savings per unit, and it has the potential to unlock thousands of apartments that were not viable just six months ago. Another such measure is the establishment of the housing activation office. The office is now up and running. The team has met with all local authorities and industry and is actively developing a programme of investment to get more homes built. The office will identify and address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development, through the alignment of funding and co-ordination of infrastructure providers. To deliver more homes at speed, the State will indeed do more, but this plan will also empower others, particularly the private sector, to play their part.”
“One vital part of this is creating the right conditions to attract inward investment in housing development, particularly in building apartments. Delivering Homes, Building Communities details a suite of complementary measures to do just this. They will result in the development of thousands of new apartments. The measures include: the changes announced to rent pressure zones, RPZs, to attract private investment back into the rental sector; the new planning design standards for apartments; a reduction in the VAT rate to 9% from 13.5%; an enhanced corporation tax deduction; and an exemption from corporation tax for cost-rental homes. The cumulative impact of these could result in a reduction of up to €160,000 in the cost of delivery to apartments.”
“Of the €12.2 billion funding provided, 95% of it will be used to support the delivery of a wide range of projects in cities and regions to ensure the delivery of the additional water services capacity required for new housing. Investment in transport will also be critical to unlocking housing. Up to €3.5 billion will be invested in transport projects, which will support the delivery of tens of thousands of homes across the five cities. We have also introduced a €1 billion infrastructure investment fund, which will help to de-risk the development of sites in towns and cities across the country. This will be managed and deployed by the housing activation office. A key change element of Delivering Homes, Building Communities is the emphasis it places on creating the environment needed for the building of more homes.”
“A total of €275 billion will be invested over the next ten years under the national development plan, to significantly upgrade our infrastructure and make the environment for building homes much better. This cannot be overstated. This includes almost €20 billion to support the delivery of 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable home supports over the next five years. It also includes €12.2 billion for water and wastewater services and €3.5 billion in equity funding for ESB Networks and EirGrid to make sure that we have the capacity in these vital services to make housing connections as and when they are needed. The Uisce Éireann investment is particularly significant.”
“That is why Delivering Homes, Building Communities takes pragmatic action across a number of different policy areas to boost housing supply while ensuring that the new homes delivered support people who need them the most. These two key objectives provide the foundational pillars in the plan: activating supply and support people. The first pillar, activating supply, is about removing structural barriers to homebuilding and ensuring we deliver 300,000 new homes in the lifetime of this plan. This includes measures aimed at unlocking land, reforming planning, delivering infrastructure and creating the conditions needed to increase investment in housing supply. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is enabled by the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State.”
“That is why we are committed to also providing 90,000 affordable housing supports. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is ambitious - of that there is no doubt - but the Government is fully committed to making it a reality. Delivering Homes, Building Communities also builds on the achievement under Housing for All with over 137,000 new homes built, 44,000 social homes and nearly 16,900 affordable housing supports provided, with 4,500 of these being cost-rental homes, a tenure type that did not exist just five years ago. This gives the Government a strong platform to scale up housing delivery and under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, we are focused on delivery. This will not be easy and there is no one single solution that will solve the housing challenges we face.”
“I very much welcome this opportunity to come before the House to discuss the Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The development of this new housing plan was a commitment under the programme for Government. It reaffirms that housing is the number one priority for all arms of government, including local government, and expects that all people and organisations, whether public or private, will play their part in tackling the challenges we face in increasing housing supply and reducing homelessness. The Government is entirely focused on building 300,000 new homes. By the end of 2030, there will be 72,000 additional new build social homes built for those in our society that need them most. Our goal remains a housing system that truly serves the needs of our people.”
“With the support of the Houses, I hope to have it enacted very shortly. I will respond to any specific questions and engage further on Committee Stage.”
“Each group raised important matters, including the need to extend the eligibility of the cap and rate increase to a larger group of homeowners, which has now been provided for. This Bill also seeks to address and simplify process matters like qualifying expenditure, increasing the time within which remediation work should be completed and following homeowners to seek technical reviews. I know many of these adjustments are essential interventions and I would like to place on record my appreciation for the collaboration we have had to this stage, with members of the housing committee assisting us in progressing this at speed as it is badly needed. I want to ensure that homeowners receive the help they will need. Today’s Bill, I believe, is another key stage in further assisting homeowners.”
“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 to be closely monitored and changed as our experience and knowledge of this complex issue develops. That is what this Bill is about. It builds on the Government funding for defective concrete block 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 met various stakeholders in Donegal earlier this year, including representatives from the Mica Action Group along with a large number of Donegal county councillors from all parties and none and senior management in the council.”
“The amendment will allow in certain situations that the requirement for a dwelling to meet the damage threshold may be waived in order to facilitate an early grant option and determination by the Housing Agency. I also intend to bring forward a number of amendments to the Building Control Acts of 1990 to 2020 to provide for the making of building regulations and the building control regulations and to set out the legislative basis for the system of enforcement. These are being made on foot of legal cases taken against the State and subsequent advice from the Attorney General and the Building Control Act as amended.”
“Noting the difficulties that certain vulnerable relevant owners and family members may face in finding suitable alternative accommodation, this amendment will allow for the construction of adjacent dwellings in limited circumstances. I think this change will make a real difference to families, for example those whose current homes have been modified to take care of the physical and mental needs of family members. The second amendment relates to facilitating owners of certain conjoined homes, for example semi-detached or terraced homes, to enter the scheme at an earlier time, thus potentially facilitating joint building work. In a number of conjoined dwellings, one dwelling may meet the damage threshold of the grant scheme and the other, although displaying visual signs, may not meet the damage threshold at the time.”
“The amendment will allow for the creation of a second charge if required. There are further amendments to the Bill to be proposed on Committee Stage. Two specific issues around how the defective concrete blocks grant scheme operates have come to my attention in recent months. I intend to include these as additional amendments on Committee Stage. I would have preferred to have these included now in the version of the Bill before the House, but the changes require significant thought and attention and the resulting drafting process has taken a little longer than expected. The first amendment relates to allowing for an exemption from the general principal of the scheme, for example that houses be remediated in more or less the exact location as they are now.”
“This will relieve the pressure and stress on homeowners. The Act allows for the sharing of certain information with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, by designated local authorities where it is necessary and proportionate. Following a request to my Department received from the SEAI, the Bill contains an amendment that will allow it to share information with designated local authorities to ensure that it does not double-fund payments it makes under its energy retrofit scheme to defective concrete blocks grant scheme applicants. The retrospective element of the Bill may result in certain applicants receiving additional funding where a designated local authority has created a charging order over their right to sell property on completion of remediation works.”
“It was brought to my attention that this was proving problematic for certain applicants to the scheme. The amendment will facilitate this for married couples and those who are in a civil partnership or are cohabiting. It is a sound, practical change to help in these circumstances. Following consultation with the stakeholder groups, it became apparent that the time limits for completing remediation works were proving difficult for certain homeowners. The Act as it stands allows a maximum of 65 weeks to complete remediation works on commencement and a requirement to apply 12 weeks in advance of this expiry period to seek a further extension of up to an additional 24 weeks. The amendment will increase the time to complete works from 65 weeks to 130 weeks and reduce the application time from 12 weeks to two weeks for an extension.”
“Relevant owners in the scheme who were previously given a non-demolition option - option 2 to 5 - and who were yet to commence works or cease works on site as of 6 November 2024 will now be able to apply for a technical review of the determined remediation option and grant amount in line with the new standard on its publication. Under the 2022 Act, relevant owners who have reached the maximum scheme grant cap cannot apply for ancillary grants. The amendment contained in the Bill will allow this cohort to apply for ancillary grants while still ensuring that the overall total payment to the homeowners remains within the grant scheme allowable amounts. The 2022 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.”
“It will allow relevant owners who have 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 to now 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. On receipt of this new grant amount, relevant owners will then be able to submit unpaid invoices for consideration and payment to their designated local authority in line with the new grant amount. Many owners will then be able to claim thousands of additional euro in support. The National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, has recently confirmed that the forthcoming revised national standard, IS 465, will be published in quarter 1 of 2026.”
“The amendments brought forward in today's legislation aim to further improve the grant scheme for impacted homeowners. These changes go a long way to address the needs raised by homeowners. The draft amendment Bill follows on from the general scheme and reflects the decisions made by the Government on 4 June 2025. At this point, I wish to draw attention to the key changes and main provisions of the Bill. It contains 28 sections. It will widen the group of relevant owners who can avail of the most recent increases in the grant scheme cap and rates.”
“Changes introduced by the original legislation included a Government guarantee of remediation works, other than full demolition and rebuild, through eligibility, if required, for a second grant for a period of 40 years; provision of alternative accommodation costs, storage costs and costs for 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 increased scheme caps and grant rates. In 2024, the grant scheme cap was increased again by the maximum permitted, 10% to €462,000, along with an increase in the scheme grant rates. Sligo County Council was also designated under the scheme, with more local authorities to join in the coming months.”
“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 Bill 2022 on 21 June 2022 and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on 23 July 2022. This scheme included an unprecedented suite of improvements and still represents the largest State intervention to address defective buildings anywhere in the world, with the scheme estimated to cost approximately €2.2 billion excluding inflation.”