Written answers
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Local Authority Housing
9:00 pm
Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 465: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the issues delaying a decision regarding the request of Dublin City Council for the re-development of D Block Liberty House, Dublin 1; and if approval will be granted in the short term. [16114/08]
Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Following receipt of the Liberty House proposal, my Department wrote to the local authority on 4 December 2007 expressing concerns regarding the value for money represented by the proposal and whether the appropriate tenure mix would be achieved, and highlighting the need for a clear development strategy for the remaining blocks. These issues were further discussed with the local authority at a meeting held on 14 February 2008. My Department is now awaiting a response from the authority.
Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 466: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding given to each county council for disabled persons grants in each of the years 2000 to 2007 and to date in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16115/08]
Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme, my Department recoups 66% of the expenditure on individual grants to local authorities. Information on local authority activity under this Scheme for the years 2000 to 2006 is published in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website, www.environ.ie. Details of the recoupments to local authorities in 2007 are set out in the following table. In respect of grant applications received under the Scheme prior to its replacement in November 2007 by the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability Scheme, I expect to be in a position shortly to notify local authorities of their capital allocations.
Disabled Persons Grant Scheme Recoupments 2007 | ||
Local Authority | Disabled Persons Grant | |
Number of Payments | Value of recoupments | |
€ | ||
Carlow County Council | 47 | 322,157 |
Cavan County Council | 79 | 603,109 |
Clare County Council | 86 | 701,294 |
Cork County Council | 282 | 2,091,404 |
Donegal County Council | 307 | 1,610,583 |
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council | 184 | 1,245,293 |
Fingal County Council | 150 | 1,023,818 |
Galway County Council | 217 | 815,333 |
Kerry County Council | 262 | 1,127,285 |
Kildare County Council | 77 | 596,888 |
Kilkenny County Council | 52 | 431,612 |
Laois County Council | 154 | 1,408,421 |
Leitrim County Council | 126 | 531,938 |
Limerick County Council | 168 | 664,426 |
Longford County Council | 69 | 290,463 |
Louth County Council | 121 | 950,472 |
Mayo County Council | 443 | 991,529 |
Meath County Council | 184 | 1,073,257 |
Monaghan County Council | 127 | 1,073,257 |
North Tipperary County Council | 153 | 932,385 |
Offaly County Council | 92 | 813,896 |
Roscommon County Council | 128 | 761,573 |
Sligo County Council | 85 | 207,696 |
South Dublin County Council | 321 | 2,154,478 |
South Tipperary County Council | 164 | 865,430 |
Waterford County Council | 109 | 676,845 |
Westmeath County Council | 84 | 678,802 |
Wexford County Council | 117 | 839,198 |
Wicklow County Council | 54 | 498,380 |
Cork City Council | 266 | 1,218,359 |
Dublin City Council | 1,335 | 7,608,111 |
Galway City Council | 87 | 615,089 |
Limerick City Council | 67 | 468,401 |
Waterford City Council | 34 | 222,200 |
Sligo Borough Council | 44 | 245,097 |
Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 467: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the new criteria that has been attached to the disabled persons grant recently which is granted through each county council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16116/08]
Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability Scheme, which is administered by local authorities, was introduced on 1 November 2007. The Scheme replaces the old Disabled Persons Grant Scheme with the aim of providing targeted and more equitable support to assist people with a disability with their accommodation needs. The types of work grant aided under the Scheme may include the provision of access ramps, grab rails, downstairs toilet facilities, stair-lifts, accessible showers, adaptations to facilitate wheelchair access, extensions etc. Under the new Scheme the effective maximum grant has been increased from €20,320 to €30,000, and may now cover up to 95% of the cost of works, compared with 90% previously. To protect the value of the grant into the future, grants levels will be adjusted annually in line with the Building Cost Index. Eligibility for grant aid is determined on the basis of household means, with a grant of 95% of the approved costs of works available to applicants with annual household incomes of less than €30,000, tapering to 30% for those with annual household incomes of €54,001 to €65,000. The income limits will be increased annually in line with wage inflation. In determining eligibility for grant aid, local authorities are obliged to apply a number of income disregards in the calculation of household means, such as, inter alia, allowances for children, Family Income Supplement, Carer's Benefit/Allowance and Domiciliary Care Allowance. The recoupment rate to local authorities in respect of individual grants has been increased from two-thirds to 80%. It is the responsibility of the authorities to fund the remaining 20% from their own resources from amounts provided for that purpose in their annual estimates of expenditure. In addition, the Adaptation Grant for New Houses is available to people with a disability who purchase or build new houses which require adaptation works to meet specific accommodation needs. The effective maximum grant available is €14,500, which may cover up to 95% of the cost of the works.
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