For blocks-affected homeowners in the designated counties, February 2026 marked the scheme’s most significant recalibration since it began: key provisions of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025 — signed just before Christmas — were commenced, with the Increased Grant Regulations alongside. Here is what changed, for whom, and what to do about it.
Mary Molloy Solicitors are solicitors, not engineers, architects or building surveyors. Nothing on this page is a technical assessment of any property or works. Defects claims stand or fall on independent expert evidence — a chartered engineer’s or building surveyor’s report — obtained early. Scheme rules, grant rates and legislation in this area change frequently; confirm the current position before making any decision.
What the Commencement Delivered
- Increased grants for capped owners: the new provisions create an application pathway for qualifying owners who exhausted earlier limits — against the raised cap of €462,000 and the rates revised in late 2024;
- A doubled works window: 65 weeks becomes 130 — matching the timeline of real demolition-and-rebuild projects — with the extension-application window tightened to 2 weeks;
- Structural refinements: conjoined-dwelling flexibility and strengthened building-control enforcement enacted, with commencement phased.
The frame around the changes is unchanged: the 2022 Act’s machinery, administered by the designated councils — Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Limerick — through damage thresholds, remediation options and staged grant payments. The full practice picture: defective concrete blocks claims.
The Legal Work the Changes Create
Increased-grant applications are documentation exercises: eligibility under the new criteria, costs evidenced to the scheme’s standards, procedure followed exactly — worth professional handling for the sums involved. Determination disputes — thresholds, downgraded options, amounts — carry review routes, and determinations that are legally flawed engage public-law remedies (where our construction practice meets our judicial review practice). Transactions in affected homes — sales, purchases, family transfers, re-mortgages — now turn on scheme status at every step. And the litigation remainder against solvent suppliers and professionals, where limitation permits, still deserves its honest assessment alongside the scheme.
The Owner’s Playbook Now
Capped owners: the increased-grant pathway, assessed promptly on current criteria. Everyone: the paper trail perfected — every assessment, approval, invoice and letter filed, because the scheme is navigable but paperwork-unforgiving, and today’s records are tomorrow’s applications and claims. And any adverse determination: advice before acceptance. The scheme’s history is one of persistent, documented owners doing better than resigned ones — the 2026 changes only sharpen that pattern.
Capped, Refused, or Mid-Scheme?
The 2026 provisions changed the options. One call maps yours - grants, reviews, transactions and any claims beyond.
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About the Author
Richard O’Shea, Solicitor practises with Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981), advising homeowners, self-builders, subcontractors and SME contractors across Ireland on building disputes, defects claims and payment recovery. Richard holds a Diploma in Mediation from the Law Society of Ireland — central to construction work, where conciliation and mediation resolve many disputes without a courtroom. Contact Richard on 01 5827148 or richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every farm and family situation is different, and you should obtain advice on your own circumstances before acting. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.