Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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78. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the review of the maximum grant allowed under the adaptation grants schemes. [23926/23]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister provide an update on the review of the maximum grant allowed under the adaptation grant schemes?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Gould for bringing forward this question. My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to support the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability which supports older and disabled people living in private houses to adapt their homes to meet their needs. Housing for All commits to reviewing the grants scheme and a report on the review has been prepared by my Department. The review was informed by engagement with external stakeholders including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Written submissions were also invited and considered as part of this process. Among the areas which the review considered are income thresholds, the grant limits, the application and the decision-making processes, including the supplementary documentation required. I received the review just recently on coming into my delegated powers and I am giving it careful, detailed and timely consideration. I will make a decision on the recommendations in the report as soon as possible. My main focus in respect of these grants is in seeking to spread their benefit by further increasing the funding that is available at national level including wider access to funding at the local level. The total funding available for the suite of housing adaptation grants has increased to more than €83 million for 2023 continuing the year-on-year increase since 2014 for these extremely important grants. This year’s allocation will build on the success of last year where we exceeded the number of home adaptations initially targeted.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. In November of last year the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, gave a commitment that the review would be published at the end of 2022. Where is the review? It is now six months late and we still do not have it. Two days ago the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said he was looking at the review. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, now says he is looking at it. Everyone seems to be looking at it but people are not getting it.

Last year there was a budget of more than €24 million for adaptation grants but €7 million was returned to the Government from local authorities. The reason the local authorities could not spend it is that the grants are not enough. To get an insight into this I spoke to a builder who said that you could not build an extension for €30,000, and that anyone in government who thinks you could is crazy. He said it would be at least double that amount, if not more, depending on the location, the site and so on. Local authorities are giving back money to the Government because they do not have the resources to pay the extra. In other words, older people and people with disabilities do not have the houses they need.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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There are obviously two aspects. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is the senior Minister so he obviously received the report as well. Looking at housing adaptation grants falls under my specific remit. The Deputy will have to take my word. I have only recently received the review. I am actively working on it. I am actively meeting officials to see how we can progress it. I take the Deputy’s point in regard to individual local authorities. We want to see these schemes working. Some colleagues have said that some local authorities have reached their limit already. We ask the local authorities to engage with the Department in order that we can see what we can do. I give a commitment that the review itself and the report that has been produced by my officials is under detailed active consideration at the moment. That is a commitment I give to the House.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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While we are giving commitments, will the Minister of State give a commitment that once the review is announced, both the funding and the thresholds will be increased for this year? To give an example, Wicklow County Council found that five of the 11 possible adaptation grants under the mobility aid grant are now priced at a standard above the threshold. Cork City Council had to return €500,000 of the €1.5 million it received because, and this is my reading of it, local authorities do not have the extra funding to carry out the work. This grant has not been increased since 2010. We talk about looking after the elderly and trying to keep people living in their homes. A friend of mine whose wife was ill recently and in hospital for more than two months could not be bothered to apply for the grant. He said he wanted to get his wife out of hospital and home as quickly as possible. He and his friends went away and built an extension because they did not trust the Government or local authority and did not want his wife to have to stay in hospital when she should be at home.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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We are looking to have the review concluded very quickly. It would then become a budgetary matter in regard to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. We will progress it. We do not want to see that situation such as the Deputy's example happening again.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is what is happening

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I see it on the ground. For me on the ground the housing adaptation grant is a very good scheme. It has not been reviewed since 2014. I take that on board. We now have a report from the officials and we are working with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to go through it forensically. From that we want to bring forward a proposal that we will have to bring to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in the normal way. We will look to do that as quickly as possible.