Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 400: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will amend the rules of the special housing aid for the elderly scheme. [6526/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the special housing aid for the elderly scheme, which is operated by the Health Service Executive, HSE, formerly the health boards, in line with various guidelines issued from time to time by the task force which administers the scheme under the aegis of my Department, aid is provided to improve the housing conditions of elderly persons living alone in unfit or insanitary conditions. Only very exceptionally is grant assistance permitted to elderly persons who are not living alone: this may include cases where a dependent child resides with an elderly person. There are no proposals to alter the scheme guidelines in this respect.

It has not been possible to identify a case in County Mayo corresponding to the details supplied with the question. In a case corresponding to some, but not all of the details, the HSE has not seen fit to provide grant assistance in the circumstances involved.