Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the motion and congratulate the Regional Group. These grants have a huge impact on the quality of life of many older people and individuals with disabilities. These grants are important in keeping people at home. It gives them a chance to live independently and it also keeps the pressure off the hospitals. It is a win-win for everybody. We only have to imagine what the hospitals would be like if it was not for this grant.

The number of people over the age of 65 is expected to reach 1.4 million by 2040, which will work out at approximately 23% of the population, whereas over-65s are currently 13.5% to 14% of the population. Therefore, these grants are going to be increasingly important for individuals but also for families and, again, to keep the pressure off the hospitals.

For many who contact me the process is challenging. Supports are needed for people who are struggling to make an application. In the current environment, costs are flying up and surpassing the grant, and individuals who apply cannot afford to do the work when they go to get it done. Funding is a huge issue. As was said previously, this is a very good scheme and it does not need to be overhauled, but it certainly needs to be funded and resourced, and supports need to be put in place for people who are struggling with the application process. If an older person gets a grant and they then have to carry out particular work, the quoted cost is often outdated by the time the work starts.

Delays are significant and that is often because, when someone applies, it comes back to needing more support and resources within the local authorities to process the applications. If someone applies and makes a mistake, as with the passports, they go back to the start of the queue whereas somebody in Dublin City Council should contact them to say they have left out A, B or C and they need to correct that. However, as it stands, the process can take months. The person will contact me or other Deputies, and we then contact the council, which says the person has not filled in the form properly, and it is then updated. That should not happen. The councils need to be more proactive and structures need to be put in place to ensure there are not such delays.

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