Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very happy to confirm that our Departments has no rule relating to stone walls. The Deputy can go back to the council and tell the people there to check the rules. If there is any doubt about that, I can send the Deputy a letter on it.

I am very conscious of the social benefits flowing from the housing adaption grants for older people and people with disabilities in terms of facilitating their continued independent living for as long as possible, which is what the Deputy has highlighted. I assure him that I, the Department and the Government are committed to that. We spend the money in the best way we possibly can. That is why the funding available for the schemes was increased by 6% this year to an overall funding availability of €59.8 million nationally. Last year more than 8,000 households benefitted under this scheme and this year we predict that possibly up to 9,000 households could benefit from the scheme with the increased funding, and rightly so. It is a good scheme, we get good value for money and it aids people to stay in their homes.

We recognise that there is a range of people who seek supports of different kinds but every scheme must have some criteria on which to be able to measure it and spend the money accordingly. Certainly, people who are older and people with disabilities are the ones on whom we have to concentrate the resources and make sure they get what they need.

As I said in my opening remarks, we do not favour reducing the limit, although I understand why the Deputy would ask for that. It is not in our plans to do that and I do not want to leave any doubt in the Deputy's mind about that. Regarding the improvement works in lieu scheme, our Department is not involved in every decision and there is no rule regarding the need for a house to have block versus a cavity walls. I want to be very clear on that. It is a decision taken on cases by the local authority concerned. That is where the Deputy should start in that respect and if there is a policy issue that we need to change, the Deputy should raise it with me. I would be happy to meet him and discuss it with him.

It is very uncommon to come across people living in a house that is not fit for purpose. There are many different schemes and supports available. Commonsense is applied and there is flexibility in the criteria. While the bulk of the money is aimed at a certain age group there is enough commonsense among those in most local authorities for them to be able to cater for a person's individual needs where that is required. That is what councillors and Deputies do. They find these cases and raise them with local authorities and generally we find solutions.

I would mention other schemes that are available. The home renovation incentive scheme is available for private and social housing. Under it, one can spend money on one's house and claim back the valued added tax, VAT, which makes it more attractive. There is the housing aid for older people scheme which I mentioned. There is a mobility aids grant scheme available through local authorities for people of all ages.. There is a better energy home scheme. There is also a grant scheme to replace lead pipes and fittings but, more importantly, the most recent scheme we brought in is one to tackle the issue of vacant properties. We recognise that many vacant properties are not fit for use. We brought in the repair and leasing scheme, where up to €40,000 per house is available to bring a house up to a high standard so that it can be used again. That is available to anybody who owns a property once they make it available for social housing. There are other schemes available for private housing. There should not be a situation where people are left in accommodation that is not fit for purpose.

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