166. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, in light of the revision of I.S. 465, he will direct that all appeals currently before the Defective Concrete Blocks Appeals Boards continue to be determined and issued without delay, given that appellants have already endured lengthy delays in the scheme and continue remain living in deteriorating homes. [47953/26]

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.

An Appeals Panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.

The Appeals Panel is statutorily independent in the performance of their functions of myself as Minister, my Department and of the Housing Agency. My Department provides limited administrative support during the initial stage of the process, in that appeals submitted by homeowners are forwarded to the Panel.

Matters pertaining to the operation of the Panel, including the processing of appeals and determinations, would be a matter for the Chair of the Appeals Panel.

However, I can confirm my Department wrote to the Chair of the Appeals Panel on 4 June 2026 advising him, in light of the recently revised standard I.S. 465:2026 published by the NSAI on 2 June 2026, that under Section 51 of the Act that I intended to launch a review of the operation of the Act shortly. I also asked him to consider how the publication of the revised standard might affect the 113 appeals currently on hand or under various stages of review with the Panel and how best the appeals system can continue to operate in the best interests of homeowners in light of these developments.