John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, on housing adaptation grants. I tabled a Commencement matter on this issue last year and I was told that a review of the three grants, the housing adaptation grant for people with disabilities, the mobility aid grant and the housing aid for older people grant, was under way. I understand that review is well completed now. What I asked at that time and what I am still asking is that the grant amounts be increased and the criteria in the means test widened. We want to ensure more people with disabilities and older persons are able to remain in their home for longer. We all know that with construction inflation over recent years, those grants are not going as far as they once did, especially the mobility aid grant for €6,000, which is often used for the adaptation of a downstairs bathroom for an older person. To get that job done now costs considerably more. Families are having to put quite a bit of money into it along with the grant aid that is available. I was assured that review was under way. We really need to see it implemented. It is not just a case of increasing the grant amounts. We have to see the allocation to local authorities increasing in tandem with that. We do not want just to see a higher grant amount and fewer people getting it. We want to see a higher grant amount and more people able to avail of it. I ask for that debate as early as possible.