Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, to the House. It is great to see him. A number of councillors throughout the country have raised with me their concerns regarding housing adaptation grants scheme funding for the elderly and people with a disability, which has been very successful in providing elderly and disabled people with a degree of comfort by facilitating them to continue living in their own homes for longer periods, which is to be welcomed. People coming towards the end of their lives deserve to be able to live in dignity. These schemes have facilitated many thousands of elderly people to do necessary remedial works to their homes, including installation of accessible bathrooms, new windows, doors and roofs, and insulation.

The problem is that the local authorities have not as yet been notified of their contribution towards these schemes for 2015. The allocation for this scheme should be increased as it would have the double effect of facilitating address of the issues outlined on behalf of our older citizens and provide employment for small construction companies employing two or three people as opposed to larger construction operators. Smaller construction companies are better able to provide this service and the quotations and so on required under these schemes.

I cannot for the life of me understand why the local authorities have not yet been told their contribution for 2015. My understanding is that in 2014 and previous years they were made aware of their allocations under this scheme in January. When will the local authorities receive a circular outlining their contribution for this year and can we expect that the amount provided for each local authority will be an increase on that provided in 2014?