Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this motion and thank the Regional Group for bringing it forward. It is an important debate to have in the House. Of course, we know the greatest challenge with these grants is the simple fact there is not enough funding for our local authorities to meet demand. Galway County Council is a prime example. Before the end of the first quarter of this year, it had over 1,000 applications, with some being progressed, some approved and some new applications that it was dealing with. We were told in March of this year that it was already significantly oversubscribed for the year in regard to applications received. I do not think it even had the funding from the Government at that point in time, which clearly shows this scheme and these grants are in demand but the funding is just not there to meet that demand.

There are a number of consequences. I am dealing with the case of an amputee who has been approved for an extension, which is welcome, but because construction costs have increased so much, he is not able to put up the amount required of him. The element of the motion in regard to discretion is very important and when it comes to persons with a disability in particular, the income thresholds are outdated. I know of a couple who are working and who need to put an extension on a house. The gentleman is a garda and the over-€60,000 rule meant they could not get anything in regard to building that extension for their child. This made things extremely difficult and they have not been able to progress. Those limits and income thresholds, as stated in the motion, are very important and need to be looked at.

There is a difference in the grant payable depending on when the house was built, and it can be a big difference for a person with an income of €40,000 to €50,000. If the house has been built for more than 12 months, people will get a payment of €15,000, and if it has been built for less than 12 months, the payment is €7,250. I am not sure why that difference exists. If something happens or if there is an accident for somebody in the house, I do not see why that link with when the house was built needs to be there and it causes difficulties.

The grants that are available are very important. The point in the motion in regard to incentivising the development of cluster bungalow housing close to services is also important, particularly for those who are considering downsizing. I had a couple in my office just two weeks ago who have a four-bedroom, privately owned house and it is just the two of them now and they really want to downsize. However, they are not in a position to do so because the houses simply are not there. That downsizing element is very important to allow people to live in clusters. It is a nice way for older people to live, where they are near the shops, the church and other services.

This is a very important motion and it is welcome we are having this debate this morning. There are steps that can be taken, particularly around discretion, to make these grants more accessible to people who need them.

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