THE DEFECTIVE CONCRETE Blocks scheme is set to be extended to social homes.

The scheme offers a grant of up to €460,000 to fix properties that have been damaged because defective concrete blocks were used to build them.

Defective concrete blocks are blocks that have excessive amounts of mica or pyrite, which weakens the concrete and causes homes to crack and crumble.

The scheme is available in: Clare; Donegal; Limerick; Mayo; Sligo; Carlow; and parts of Meath.

Carlow and parts of Meath were added to the scheme earlier this month.

However, this scheme only applies to private homeowners and Housing Minister James Brown is set to introduce a new scheme to remediate social homes impacted by defective concrete blocks.

The Social Homes Scheme will replicate most of the provisions in the Defective Concrete Blocks grant scheme.

The new Social Homes Scheme is based on the current scheme for private homeowners, but with amendments where necessary to reflect the different nature of social housing.

However, the fundamental terms and conditions regarding eligibility, grant rates and maximum allowable grant per dwelling are the same as the private scheme.

The five remedial options of the scheme range from an entire demolition of the home and a reconstruction in the same position, to demolishing and rebuilding the outer leaf of affected walls only and re-rendering them.

Before the drafting of the Social Homes Scheme, the Department of Housing engaged in consultation with designated local authorities, the Irish Council for Social Housing and some approved housing bodies.

⁠It is estimated there are just over 2,400 social housing units likely to be impacted by defective concrete blocks.