Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State and I thank the Acting Chairperson for selecting this important matter. Like many public representatives, I recognise the importance of the housing adaptation grant, the housing aid grant and the mobility aid grant for many constituents. These grants can be, and for so many are, life-changing and they ensure many of our older population and those with a disability can continue to live in their homes in comfort, with the continued support of their loved ones. Nevertheless, I have been getting an increasing number of worrying calls from applicants to all the grants indicating they cannot afford to proceed with these grants given the rising building costs and the current limits on the grants.In many cases the 95% maximum of the €8,000 housing aid grant is simply nowhere near what is needed to replace those ancient windows, those out of date electrics or that leaky roof. The €30,000 available under the housing adaptation grant will not ensure that a loved one can continue to live at home, supported and cared for by those who know him or her best. I am sure I do not have to tell the Minister of State that in many cases I and other public representatives who I speak to are dealing with applicants who have no other option than to consider moving out of their homes or for a family to consider full or part-time care for their children or family members in nearby appropriate facilities. The costs to these applicants and the State are worrying in the extreme.

I also want to raise the situation of tenants who are waiting for work to be done by their local authorities. In many local authorities I know that a system is applied by the council with the A list being the highest priority and those who receive a C listing being the lowest priority. In many local authorities the waiting list for those on the A priority list is growing. I am informed that the allocations to tenant upgrades are far less than what the Government offered to private homes. If a number of extensions are needed in local authority homes this will result in little or no other works being carried out, given the cost of the building of such extensions and the amount of funding allocated to these grants by the Government. Many of us have asked why these are not rolling grants, which would allow local authorities to plan this work as opposed to waiting on a yearly announcement from the Department as is currently the case. It must be difficult for councils to be waiting on word each year on how funding will be allocated in order to plan tenders and associated works, while at the same time, with growing building costs, having to return to the Department for approval for works over certain limits.

I want to thank the local authority officials who work on these apartments. I have always appreciated their co-operation and assistance and they go above and beyond the call of duty for so many people on a daily basis. When I raised these issues last year I was informed that the Department was carrying out a review of these grants. I sincerely hope the Minister of State can bring us some good news today. Building costs have dramatically increased in recent years and I am currently directing many applicants to the community welfare service to try to bridge the gap and allow as many applicants as possible to carry out the work they need to qualify for, and in so many cases, that they desperately need. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I will give a general outline and then I will come back to the Senator's specific points. Our 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, which also facilitates early return from hospital stays. Our objective in this is to keep older people living at home and independently for as long as possible. The grants include the housing adaptation grant for people with a disability, the mobility aids grant and the housing aid for older people grant, which are 80% funded by our Department, together with a 20% matching contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of these schemes, including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment between the three schemes, is the responsibility of local authorities. Funding of €81.25 million is available nationally in 2022 for the housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability scheme. The receipt and processing of housing grant applications has continued successfully throughout the pandemic and the carrying out of such works was specifically exempted from the construction restrictions under the public health regulations which were put in place.

The Housing Options for our Ageing Population policy statement emphasised my Department's commitment to streamlining the application process and ensuring that grants were more accessible to applicants. In this regard, my Department engaged with all 31 local authorities in 2019 to review the detailed administration of the grants. My Department also engaged with key stakeholders, including the National Disability Authority, ALONE and Age Friendly Ireland, which helped to bring greater clarity to the development of a single application form and updated guidelines. Subsequently, a revised single application form to cover the three grants, which was tested for plain English, issued to all local authorities together with revised guidelines for implementation. My Department is working to ensure full implementation of the new process, which will make the grant application process more accessible as well as standardising the individual local authority approach.

In addition to this improved streamlining of the grants scheme, Housing for All commits to undertaking a review of the range of housing grants available to assist with meeting specific housing needs, both for our ageing population and for people with a disability, which includes a review of the existing grant limits and income thresholds applicable to the grant schemes.This review is currently under way and it will be completed later this year. It is important to highlight the increased allocations for 2022, which were issued earlier this week to each local authority. The increase represents more than 8% of a national increase in allocations, continuing the overall year-on-year increases in the grants since 2014. However, I acknowledge that construction costs have stayed ahead of this 8% figure. This is a significant issue about which there is no doubt. The Department is conscious of it and it will work with the local authorities to resolve it through the review process.

Again, I acknowledge the role of local authority staff. The Senator is correct that they have been, and they continue to be, exemplary in the support they are giving to communities and to families who are trying to steer through this grant application process. The issue of rolling grants might be included in the review and it is something I will take back to the Department as well.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am very much aware there is one form for the three different grants. That has helped about which there is no doubt. However, the problem at the moment is that I have to direct the majority of applicants with whom I am dealing to the community welfare service, which is another arm of Government, in order that they can complete their grants. The €8,000 limit is simply not good enough. To take the €30,000 limit as an example, the cheapest building costs the person could get amounted to €70,000. Yet, the grant only offers €30,000. The person is still in hospital and cannot leave.

It is like what the Minister of State said in that we want people to return home and to live in the comfort and care of their loved ones. That is what this is all about. The reason I mention those grants is to see if those limits will be increased to reflect rising building costs. I hope that is being looked at the moment. It cannot happen quickly enough for those who need the grants. Many of these grants are stalled at the moment because people simply cannot continue with them, because they do not have the money. That is the problem here. I hope the Minister of State will address this as a matter of urgency.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I agree with the Senator in the sense that we have seen year-on-year, as I know from my own county and my own constituency, that the grants are oversubscribed. This is, in itself, a testament to the success of the grant scheme. There is significant uptake. There is always a waiting list. However, we have to give consideration to the rising building costs. They are unfortunately affecting every sector of Housing for All, as well as all of our plans. I hope the review will give consideration to all these issues and, in particular, the issue of which the Senator speaks about, namely, rolling grants. The critical thing we are trying to achieve here is to keep older people living in their homes for as long as possible, with the support of carers and their loved ones. That should be our ultimate goal. That has always been the aim of this particular grant scheme.