Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if measures will be put in place to ensure that the necessary staffing is allocated to the disabled persons' grant and that the essential repairs grant is increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37032/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The improvements made to the terms of the essential repairs grants scheme in recent years have permitted a significant upscaling of the level of activity. In line with these changes and the efforts of local authorities the number of individuals benefiting has increased significantly. The effective maximum grant has been increased to €9,523 and the level of recoupment by my Department to local authorities has increased from 50% to two thirds. Increased capital funding has been made available to meet the cost of the activity generated by these improvements. Some 2,075 grants were paid by local authorities under this scheme in 2004 at a cost of €9.6 million compared to 957 at a cost of €2.2 million in 1998. While there are no proposals to increase the maximum grant at this stage, the operation of the scheme is included in the review of the disabled persons grants and related schemes which is being finalised in my Department.

Local authorities are individually responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out their functions, including in relation to housing grants. As regards to the level of the essential repairs grant, I refer to the reply to Question No. 36 of 29 November 2005.