Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State makes the case that the age profile is relevant and while it is important, the one constant in the figure RTE has released is that if there is a Minister in the area, no matter what the age profile or level of disability in the area, it will do well out of this scheme. The home of the Taoiseach receives the most, the home of the then Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with responsibility for housing comes second, Cork city is number four. There is no surprise that Kilkenny, the home of the former Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, is number five. Carlow follows close behind, although it has a relatively young age profile. Meath is bottom of the list and Sligo, which has a very high age profile but no political influence, is also near the bottom of the list.

The Minister of State seems to be saying that the counties that adopted a more cautious approach and closed schemes when applications reached a certain level seemed to do badly out of the funding. That certainly happened in Meath. For a long time there were opening and closing dates for applications. Has Meath lost out because of the way that process operated in the past? What can be done now that Meath has changed that approach? What can be done to bring it up?

Is it the Department's or the council's responsibility? How will we change this arrangement because disabled people and the elderly badly need this funding for adaptations to their houses?