John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy. Allocations have been made to local authorities in the last week in relation to housing adaptation grants. There has been significant change in grants following a review last year. The mobility aid grant has gone from €6,000 to €8,000, the housing aid for older persons grant has increased from €8,000 to €10,700 and the housing adaptation grant has gone from €30,000 to €40,000. I do not have the exact figure, but, from memory, I think that approximately €2.7 million in Exchequer funding was allocated to the local authority in Louth last week. I can get the exact figure for the Deputy. The Department is open to continued engagement with all local authorities. We have given further allocations in the past, but there will be significant uplift of upwards of 30% across many local authorities in light of the changes.

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