Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 918: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if there is a home improvement grant available for people who suffer from electro-sensitivity. [10306/07]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not operate any home improvement grant scheme specifically to assist people who suffer from electro-sensitivity. The Disabled Persons Grant Scheme, which is administered by the local authorities, provides grant aid for the provision of additional accommodation or necessary works of adaptation to a dwelling to meet the needs of a disabled member of the household.

However, the advice received by my Department from the Department of Health and Children is that the consensus of scientific opinion to date is that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and ill health. In addition, I understand that the World Health Organisation has assessed the many reviews carried out in this area and has indicated that exposures below the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in their 1998 Guidelines do not produce any known adverse health effects. The ICNIRP guideline limits are implemented in Ireland. Accordingly, it is unlikely that electro-sensitivity would be deemed to constitute a disabling condition for the purposes of the Disabled Persons Grant scheme.