Dáil debates

Thursday, 2 March 2023

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

12:20 pm

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Tá an ceart aige arís; caithimid gach aon rud gur féidir linn a dhéanamh ó thaobh na daoine is aosta agus is sinsire sa tír seo a chabhrú ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta de. Tá an Rialtas ag díriú air seo agus táimid ag cur níos mó áiseanna ar fáil do na bardais aitiúla ar fud na tíre. We have allocated substantial resources to housing and housing need more generally. I am familiar with many of these grant schemes and I think they have been effective. Many people have used them to good effect; for example, senior citizens have used them for adaptation. There is a wide continuum for adaptation; it can involve fairly basic provisions to enable mobility around the house with stairlifts and things like that or it can involve the conversion of bedrooms and shower facilities, including downstairs, to prepare for the future.

I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review the grant thresholds. These are thresholds and in many instances people will not have to use the maximum amount available, depending on what they are applying for. It is the objective of the Government to keep people in their homes for as long as possible and to prevent falls in homes, for example. The Government wants to ensure that those with disabilities have independent living and that the wherewithal is there to facilitate that through capital works, adaptation programmes, independent living assistance and other supports of that kind. The Deputy has identified three grants, including the housing aid for older people grant, the mobility aids grant scheme and the housing adaptation grant for people with a disability. I will go back and get the precise numbers but, depending on the local authority, there has been a consistency of use of these grants on an annual basis. The Deputy is raising the fact that with increased costs and so on, the gap between the grant and the cost of a particular adaptation is making it too challenging for people to avail of the grants in the first instance. I will ask the Minister to review those thresholds in the context of the next budget and to take on board the issues that have been raised in that respect.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.