Defective Building Materials

97. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a local authority or an approved housing body's I.S. 465 building professional recommends option 1 remediation (details supplied), his power to seek documentary evidence and request review by the Housing Agency can result in the original remediation recommendation being altered or overturned; the precise statutory basis for this additional oversight; the safeguards in place to ensure that the independent eng

Defective Building Materials

476. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the statutory review of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 currently being undertaken under Section 51 of the Act; the names, qualifications, and specific terms of appointment of external experts or consultants who have been engaged to assist his Department with this review; the specific terms of reference provided to these external experts; and

Pension Provisions

372. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware of reports from employers participating in the My Future Fund auto-enrolment pension initiative regarding significant delays in the processing and reimbursement of payments due to businesses; if his Department has assessed the impact such delays are having on the cash flow of small and micro-enterprises; the average waiting time currently being experienced for reimbursement; and the measures being taken to improve r

Defective Building Materials

143. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the funding streams currently available to childcare providers affected by defective concrete, including sustainability funding and capital supports; and the number of providers that have accessed such funding to date. [67395/26]

Defective Building Materials

140. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal protocol exists between her Department, Pobal and County Childcare Committees regarding the management of childcare services affected by defective concrete; and if so, to provide details of that protocol. [67388/26]

Defective Building Materials

142. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality measures in place to ensure that childcare places are not lost where a childcare facility affected by defective concrete becomes unsafe or unsuitable for occupation. [67392/26]

34th Dáil debate — 2026-10-01

Deputy Charles Ward It concerns me that option 1 recommendations appear to be subject to an additional layer of scrutiny that does not seem to apply where engineers' recommendations are options 2, 3, 4 or 5. Can the Minister explain the rationale and outline the safeguards in place to ensure constant evidential engineering standards across the remediation options? Furthermore, where an independent I.S. 465 chartered engineer has assessed the property, determined the damaged threshold has been m

34th Dáil debate — 2026-10-01

Deputy Charles Ward I am aware they are technical but it is very important we get this right. Recommendations for option 1 can be subject to additional scrutiny by the Housing Agency. Where it is not equivalent relates to engineering and safeguarding for options 2, 3, 4 or 5, where homeowners and tenants must have confidence that remediation recommendations are subject to the same evidence and engineering standards regardless of outcome. Does the Minister accept that the current approach risks

34th Dáil debate — 2026-10-01

Deputy Charles Ward As the Tánaiste will know, over 100,000 public sector workers, including teachers, SNAs, healthcare workers, council workers, civil servants and people who work in this building, are now on a work-to-rule because the Government has refused to offer them a pay rise that would allow them to keep up with the current cost-of-living crisis. I fully support them. Over the past few days, I have talked to many public sector workers in Donegal, including members of the Inishowen and