Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There was a grant some years ago - perhaps my colleague, Deputy Durkan, might recall it - where in lieu of a housing application, the extension was built and the council then deemed that the housing need had been met. That might be worth looking at.

I will refer to what the Minister of State said regarding the review of housing adaptation grants. We need that very soon. This week, it was announced that more money would be made available for County Louth but Louth County Council decided it would not accept any more applications under the housing adaptation grant scheme from this week. This was because it has a backlog of 300 priority cases. It is not good enough that that is happening. The Minister of State needs to examine every allocation for every county, find out the number of special-needs people that need the supports, and give them the money. The Government has the money in the coffers. The needs of people with disabilities, serious illness, heart illnesses and all sorts of problems cannot be met. It is not good enough that applications are being put in the bin by Louth County Council.

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