Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Housing for All - A New Housing Plan for Ireland is the Government's housing policy to 2030 and the most effective way of accelerating housing supply. Pathway 4 of Housing for All specifically looks at making the most efficient use of our existing housing stock.

My Department provides private housing grants to assist older or disabled people who wish to stay in their own homes or those on low incomes who are on social housing lists. For example, up to €30,000 is available under the housing adaptation grant for people with disabilities, which can be used for extensions. More than €83 million is available in 2023 to support the suite of housing adaptation grants available from local authorities. My Department also provides funding under the improvement works in lieu of local authority housing scheme, IWILS. This scheme allows a local authority to improve privately owned accommodation as an alternative to providing local authority housing.

While I am not considering a broader grant for extensions or attic conversions at this time, my Department has recently reviewed the current suite of housing adaptation grants.

I will give careful consideration to the review report and expect to make a decision on its recommendations as soon as possible.

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