Questions

289. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he accepts that in the current absence of statutory clarity on the interaction between appeals and technical reviews under the enhanced defective concrete blocks scheme, homeowners risk making life-changing decisions without knowing the consequences; if he will urgently provide definitive guidance to address this; and if he will…

307. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of transitional applications that remain to be processed by the Housing Agency arising from the transfer of applications from the original defective concrete blocks grant scheme to the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53666/25]

308. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the defective concrete blocks social homes scheme intended to provide remediation for local authority and approved housing body-owned dwellings; if he will clarify when this scheme has been formally implemented in Donegal; the timelines envisaged for its roll-out; the means by which applications will be triaged for re…

90. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason there has been no formal request to the SCSI for an update to the report on construction costs for the enhanced defective concrete block scheme; to provide a timeline for when such a request might be expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52259/25]

1490. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of requests his Department has received from Donegal County Council seeking funding to purchase additional fire appliances and-or emergency specialist equipment for Donegal fire services in each of the years 2023 to 2024 and to date in 2025; the number of funding requests that were approved, in tabular form; and if he w…

139. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the Corncrake LIFE programme; if the programme will be extended beyond December 2025; in what capacity the conservation measure will continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36447/25]

465. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any plans to review or increase the current planning exemption threshold for playgrounds, presently set at €127,000, when undertaken by a local authority, to account for rising construction costs and inflation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35603/25]

502. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason for the ongoing delay in processing appeals under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme; the current status of appeals; the definitive timeline for issuing decisions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33837/25]

504. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason for the ongoing delay in providing clarification to the residents of Elm Park, Buncrana under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme; the definitive timeline for issuing decisions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33840/25]

511. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of an appeal by persons (details supplied) under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme to be judged on its own merits under section 39 of the Act Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33879/25]

840. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans in place to raise the current means limit to qualify for social housing in Donegal and nationwide (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30306/25]

396. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason Government bodies have been to Wexford and tested a number of properties for defective concrete, over a year ago, yet test results have not been made available; and when the results will be available to homeowners in Wexford. [28808/25]

558. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the status of a refund of fees under the defective concrete blocks scheme on the home of a deceased applicant (details supplied); and if he is aware of the ongoing distress and legal complications caused by the delay, despite assurances in January 2023 that the refund would be issued; and when this r…

254. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current position of the letter of assurance/ guarantee for those who have completed works under the defective concrete blocks scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22277/25]

1331. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason as of April 2025, none of the six appeals that were confirmed to be in progress as of early December 2024 under the enhanced defective concrete blocks scheme have been heard; the status and expected timelines for the resolution of these appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20696/25]

1332. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current position of the technical review of the enhanced defective concrete blocks scheme announced on 6 November 2024; if the scheme will not provide a mechanism to bypass the statutory right to appeal as set out in the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022; and if he will make a st…

147. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the car park at Glenveagh National Park, Donegal was last resurfaced or remarked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17719/25]

429. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is considering retrospective adjustments for early applicants under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme who met the grant cap whose engineering fees were deducted from the €420,000 cap; the measures being taken to insure that early movers are not penalised as previously stated by the then Minister for Hou…

285. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied) requiring exceptional approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8879/25]

173. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the text for the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8214/25]

174. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if retrospective payments for homeowners will be included in the remediation of dwellings damaged under the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8217/25]

511. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason solar panels were not installed on any of the new housing at a location (details supplied); if there are any plans for new builds to be required to have a minimum number of solar panels in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7449/25]

233. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Housing Agency records the internal dimensions of rooms only and does not consider the areas occupied by internal partition walls under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme; if the entire floor area including floor area occupied by internal walls should be calculated for grant allocation; and if he will make a statem…

438. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the increased rates and cap under the defective concrete blocks scheme will be applied retrospectively to homeowners who have already completed their rebuild or remediation works before the relevant legislation is passed; if not, the rationale for this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5832/25]

357. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department is considering changes to the ‘enhanced defective concrete block scheme’ regarding extensions to the accommodation allowance due to delays that are outside the control of the homeowner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4147/25]