James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Will the Tánaiste consider the position of the disabled? Take the example of a middle income family, where the children have been reared and the husband and wife are living together. If the husband or wife has a serious road traffic accident and becomes disabled, they can afford to sell their house and buy a bungalow more suited to their needs because their current two-storey house would cost too much to adapt to their requirements and would otherwise be unsuitable. Those people, who are not even looking for a grant, are being penalised.

The Tánaiste and I know that grants for the adaptation of a house range from €13,000 to €20,000. If one lives in the greater Dublin area or in the large cities, not much adaptation will take place for that sort of money, but the people in my example only want to sell their house to buy a bungalow they can adapt, not to get a grant. They could be penalised by €70,000 or more.

I am appealing to the Tánaiste's sense of social justice to show compassion to the disabled, to not burden them further. Would the loss of revenue not be minuscule in the overall scheme of things? It would send a strong message of real support for the disabled. Will the Tánaiste reconsider the matter?

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