Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the housing adaptation grants, I agree it is a useful mechanism to enable people to stay at home, which is what we all want people to be able to do if they have a disability. In the medium term, it can save costs for the Government and the taxpayer because it reduces the need for residential care.

There have been increases in the housing adaptation grant in recent years. I do not have the figures to hand but I know that there have been increases. I cannot make a commitment relating to the budget but I know that it is something that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will want to prioritise, if he can, within his allocation.

On the NBP, if Deputy McGuinness sends on some more details of the particular business, I will check it out. It is difficult to comment on any particular customer but the contract is signed. It is a €3 billion project and represents the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification. Thankfully, it will not take as long as rural electrification, which took decades, but it cannot be done quickly. At its fastest approximately 100,000 premises will be connected but because of the pandemic, we will do well to hit half of that this year. It is intended to speed it up in the coming years and there are a number of interventions that the Government is assisting the companies with in that regard. I will send the Deputy more details on that.

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