Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 485: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount returned to his Department from local authorities in 2004 under the disabled person's grant scheme. [23147/05]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 486: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he plans to introduce reforms in the disabled person's grants system; and if those reforms will remove the requirement of local authorities to match the funding provided by the Department. [23148/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 485 and 486 together.

A combined capital allocation of €73 million was made available to local authorities for the disabled persons and essential repairs grant schemes in 2004. It is a matter for local authorities to decide on the level of funding to be provided for the disabled person's grant scheme from within this combined capital allocation. While two thirds of all expenditure on the scheme is recouped by my Department, authorities are required to fund the remaining one third from their own revenue resources with amounts provided for that purpose in their annual estimates. The sum of €41.9 million provided in my Department's Estimates for 2004 for recoupment to local authorities of two-thirds of their expenditure on individual grants was fully expended.

Information provided by local authorities indicate that combined expenditure by them on the schemes in 2004 was €55.4 million, consisting of €45.8 million on disabled persons grants and €9.6 million on essential repairs grants. Administration of both grant schemes, including the processing of individual applications, is a matter for the local authorities. The majority of authorities have reviewed their schemes over the past two years with a view to streamlining their operation. Introduction of systems of medical prioritisation as well as standardisation of costs and improved arrangements for the use of occupational therapists has enabled authorities to manage the schemes more efficiently and has allowed them to tackle the backlog of applications which had been allowed to build in a number of areas.

A combined capital allocation of €70 million is available in 2005 for payment of disabled persons and essential repairs grants. Individual allocations were notified to local authorities on 7 June 2005. I am very conscious of the importance of the disabled persons grants scheme in assisting the provision of appropriate accommodation of disabled persons in the community. It is essential that the available funding be directed to those persons in greatest need of such assistance. The requirement that local authorities make a contribution from their own resources to the financing of the scheme will be considered further within the overall context of the review of the operation of the disabled persons grant scheme which has been under way in my Department.