A total of 15 approved applicants have shared a total of €1,012,137 under the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme in recent days.
Donegal County Council said the payments to homeowners are due to hit their bank accounts today, Monday 15th April 2024.
The latest round of payments under the scheme from the council to homeowners bring the total so far to €23.8m.
This overall payment encompasses both the Ancillary Grant and Remediation Grant Payment Claims.
In a statement, the council says it is committed to turning around all Payment Claims as efficiently and expediently as possible, on receipt of all required documentation from applicants as set out under the provisions of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 and the 2023 Regulations and on completion of the necessary pre-payment validation checks.
The Ancillary Grant is available where the relevant homeowner has incurred costs in respect of alternative accommodation, where their relevant dwelling is no longer habitable due to damage caused by defective concrete blocks in construction or where alternative accommodation is necessary during the carrying out of a Remediation Option under the Act.
The maximum grant amount for alternative accommodation is €15,000. The Ancillary Grant is also available where the relevant homeowner incurs storage costs for the contents of the relevant dwelling, whilst remediation works are ongoing and the maximum grant amount for storage costs is €5,000.
The maximum Remediation Option Grant and Ancillary Grant combined is €420,000 under the provisions of the Enhanced DCB Grant Scheme.
To date the Council has received a total of 23 Ancillary Grant applications under the provisions of the Enhanced Grant Scheme. All of these applications have been assessed by the Council under the provisions of the Enhanced Scheme.
The Council has been in contact with 20 applicants in relation to outstanding information required to validate their grant application. Once this information is received, the Council is committed to turning around these Payment Claims as efficiently and expediently as possible. Ancillary Grant Claims have been approved for payment for 3 no. homeowners in recent days.
The Council’s DCB Grant Office are also continuing to process 28 Payment Claims for reimbursement of Remediation Costs. In this regard, the Council are awaiting submission of outstanding information from 8 no. applicants in relation their Remediation Grant Claim. A further 14 Remediation Payment Claims are currently being assessed by the Council and payment claims for 6 homeowners have been approved this week.
