James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I support the call for an inquiry into this issue.

The Leader should invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the House for a debate on the inadequacy of housing grants for elderly people, namely, the essential repairs and disabled persons grants. These grants have not kept pace with inflation. I know an elderly person who was quoted €48,000 for necessary repairs to his house but the maximum grant he can receive is between €18,000 and €20,000, depending on the local authority.

These elderly people are unable to afford this kind of money for repairs. At a time when, as the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government recently noted, the country is awash with money, he should be ashamed of himself. I call on him to come to this House to debate the grants available to our elderly people because such a debate is urgently needed.