1163. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the impact of the defective concrete blocks grant scheme on the future saleability and mortgage ability of remediated dwellings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44018/26]

As the Deputy is aware the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 as amended by the Act of 2025 underpins the Grant Scheme which provides grant funding to people whose homes have been affected by Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB).

A number of amendments contained in the 2025 Act came into operation on 25 February 2026 and more recently further provisions commenced on 27 May 2026.

My Department keeps the operation of the scheme under continuous review and established an Implementation Steering Group for the DCB Grant scheme which has been in place since 2023 with a sub-group of this group also established to discuss financial aspects of the scheme.

Through this group, my Department has had a number of engagements with the Banking and Payments Federation (BPFI) on specific issues raised by DCB homeowners. As part of these discussions the BPFI has confirmed to my Department that, from their perspective, once a home has been certified as remediated under the DCB Scheme it will be treated by them in a similar manner to other properties.

My Department maintains regular contact with the BPFI providing updates on the grant scheme and addressing any queries they may have relating to statistical information or the operation of the scheme.