The amount a homeowner can receive under the scheme was increased by 10 per cent in October 2024 from €420,000 to €462,000.

The per square metre rates used in the scheme to calculate the grant amount were also increased in November 2024 by between 7.4 per cent and 8.7 per cent.

However, the increases currently only apply to eligible homeowners yet to receive a determination in respect of remediation option and grant amount.

The government has now acknowledged that this means some homeowners who have been impacted by higher construction costs cannot receive this increase.

New legislation is now being prioritised which will mean that homeowners who have incurred eligible scheme costs since 29 March 2024 will be entitled to apply for the higher amounts.

Housing, heritage and local government minister James Browne said: “I made it a priority to visit the north west and met with some of the homeowners impacted by the use of defective concrete blocks in the construction of their homes, as well as advocacy groups and local representatives.

“I witnessed at first-hand the difficulties faced by these affected households in financial and personal terms in recent years.

“The improvements I am introducing today will secure fairness, ensuring every eligible homeowner can now access the improved financial support from the government, irrespective of their original remediation and grant determination date. It had to be sorted.”

The bill will also include several amendments to assist in the improved running of the scheme.

The proposed changes will provide for the scheme to fund the construction of a new dwelling adjacent to the original defective home in very limited circumstances for specific homeowner families.

The changes will also increase the time allowed to complete remediation works from 65 weeks to 130 weeks and the advance notice period for the extension to this period goes from 12 weeks to two weeks.

Mr Browne said: “I have listened to homeowners in the region and heard the particular challenges they have faced with certain elements of the scheme.

“I believe the package of measures we intend to bring forward through legislation will address some of the concerns raised so that homeowners will continue to have confidence in the scheme and know that they are being supported by the government.”

The defective concrete blocks grant scheme supports affected homeowners to remediate their dwellings, where their dwelling has been damaged by the use of defective concrete blocks in its construction in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Mayo and Sligo.

So far, there have been over 2,500 applications to the scheme.