Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte rompu; it is great to have them here. Listening carefully to the points the Senator made, I know from my local authority that these grants are transformative. They improve the quality of life of older people and the critical thing is to keep people living in their homes for longer and in an independent way. That is why the grants have been hugely impactful in the ten years since this grant was brought in. Given the benefits this scheme provides to people who rely on them to continue to live their lives independently in their homes, our objective is to continue to provide further increases in funding and I outlined the increase that was made this year. That is critically important and the Senator has referenced issues around downstairs rooms and adapting houses.

I am not sure what the terms of reference of the review are but the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will bring the review forward in due course. I am hopeful that within that review there will be a set of recommendations to move forward and make these schemes continue to be fit for purpose. I want to provide some assurance on modern design and construction and I want to say that disability-proofing all of our housing stock is critically important, not just for the public sector and approved housing bodies, AHBs, but also for the private sector. That is hugely important, given that our population continues to grow older, and we want people to live healthier and happier lives as they grow older.