Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Burke for his contribution on this important issue. I understand how frustrated he is, as the family's Oireachtas representative, that nothing seems to be in the pipeline. Local authorities and all public agencies need to be specifically conscious of the needs of people with disabilities when providing services.

The Senator seemed to imply that an amount of money had been returned by Cork City Council to the Department as an underspend in housing adaptation grants. That is not the position we want and the Minister, Deputy Kelly, is anxious to ensure that the resources he makes available to local authorities are spent as they should be, namely, on improving housing stock and giving access to the best housing stock for people with disabilities.

Perhaps I misinterpreted the Senator, but I understood that the grant had been approved in 2008. I assure him that I will bring the matter to the Minister's attention. This was not necessarily the Senator's aim, as he would like to see an improved system for people with disabilities and the appointment of disability officers in local authorities, but all public and civil servants in the system should be acutely conscious of the needs of people with disabilities who expect and are entitled to the types of service that the Senator outlined.