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

Lá Fhéile Bríde shona daoibh go léir.

I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the House. We have discussed it before and he has raised it on a number of occasions. As the Acting Chairperson has said, it is something that all of our constituency offices are dealing with. There is no doubt the grant is no longer fit for purpose. Given the rising costs of labour and materials, it would certainly not complete the works. It may have done in the past when it was introduced, but it is certainly not meeting all of the needs of the people at the minute.

My Department provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. These grants are available to people with an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual disability, and to older people who experience mobility issues or require essential repairs to their home so that can continue to live independently at home. We know people are living longer and it is Government policy to try to keep people living at home for as long as they can.

The grants are 80% funded by the Department, together with a 20% matching contribution from the resources of the local authority. The schemes are means tested and operate on a sliding scale, with the highest percentage grants available to those with the lowest incomes and vice versa. The detailed administration of these schemes, including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment between the three schemes, is the responsibility of each local authority. I join the Senator in commending local authority staff across the country who put in exceptional work dealing with these grant applications.

In 2023, an Exchequer provision of more than €72 million in funding, which included a supplementary Exchequer provision of €6 million, was made available to facilitate the payment of more than 13,000 grants, which compares favourably with the target of more than 12,300 grants. The Exchequer funding available for these grants in 2024 is €74.5 million, or in excess of €93 million when the local authority contribution is included, continuing the year-on-year increases since 2014. Therefore, the capital allocation for the grant has been increasing.

Housing for All committed to undertaking a review of the range of housing grants available to assist in meeting specific housing needs for both our ageing population and people with a disability. A report on the review of the housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability has been prepared by the Department, and among the areas which the review considered are the income thresholds and the grant limits.

My Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on the recommendations in the review report. The objective of this engagement is to deliver on the emerging recommendations and ensure continued enhancement of this successful grant scheme with a view to bringing forward amendments to the relevant regulations governing the schemes. I hope that gives some comfort to the Senator. Certainly, the recommendations will be coming forward, and out of that there will be amendments to the regulations governing the scheme, which we would all welcome.

I note the case study the Senator highlighted. The rising cost of labour and materials presents challenges for local authority staff dealing with them. Given our ageing population, agencies and authorities need to ensure people who are getting older and people with disabilities can live independently and comfortably in their own homes. The optimum for all people in this category should be to have a comfortable and good quality life, living in their homes for as long as they can.