Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says the government will have regulations on the new Defective Concrete Blocks scheme complete “in the next couple of weeks”.
He told the Dáil yesterday that the government is keen to get the scheme up and running as soon as possible.
“By this time next year I want to be in a position where we are seeing hundreds of homes in Donegal being repaired or being demolished and rebuilt,” Mr Varadkar told Deputy Joe McHugh, when asked for a progress update on the scheme.
Deputy McHugh emphasised key issues with the scheme yesterday, including the transfer of eligibility, particularly for pensioners who are not in a position to draw down another mortgage or get finance.
“There should be a clause of transfer of eligibility,” Deputy McHugh said.
The second point he highlighted was around penalty-free downsizing, which he said should be voluntary.
“This is an important element, environmentally and financially. Penalty-free downsizing is an important issue that should be part of the new scheme. It would make the scheme that much stronger,” Deputy McHugh told the Taoiseach.
Mr Varadkar said that he spoke with Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien about the scheme recently, but did not want to go into details.
