Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that the announcement was made without that scoping exercise having been done. Not having an indication at this point of the staffing requirements is concerning. According to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, last December, an estimated 1.3 million households of the 1.65 million eligible would apply for the water conservation grant. If this process is not completed properly, other services could easily be impacted on. The Tánaiste is shaking her head. I will not say there have not been improvements in some payments, as there have been, but transitioning from a domiciliary care allowance payment to a longer term payment or applying for carer's allowance can take nine months and there are high levels of refusal, although more than 50% of those refused have their applications granted on appeal. If the grant will impact on such persons, we should all be concerned. Given the fact that the announcement has been made, being unable to provide even an estimate of the number of staff required or the transaction costs involved is surprising.

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