Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the assistance available to those on social welfare, not in receipt of council housing, to make repairs on their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6624/11]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the assistance available from councils to those on social welfare, not in receipt of council housing, to make repairs on their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6625/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 249 and 265 together.

In order to facilitate the continued independent occupancy of their own homes by older people and people with a disability, and following a review of the old Disabled Persons, Essential Repairs Grant Schemes and Special Housing Aid for the Elderly scheme, which was administered by the HSE, a revised suite of Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes was implemented on 1 November 2007.

Three separate schemes are available:

Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability:

This grant assists people with a disability to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out in order to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Eligible works include the provision of access ramps, stair lifts, accessible toilet and shower facilities, wheelchair access and extensions. The effective maximum grant under the scheme is €30,000, which may cover up to 95% of the approved cost of works for applicants, including those in full-time employment, who have gross household incomes of up to €30,000 per annum, tapering to 30% for those with incomes of €54,001 to €65,000.

Mobility Aids Grant Scheme:

This scheme is available to fast track grants of up to €6,000 to cover a basic suite of works to address the mobility problems of a member of a household. Qualifying works include the provision of stair lifts, level access showers, access ramps, grab rails and some minor adaptation works to the fabric of the house such as adaptation of downstairs room/closet to provide sanitary facilities etc. The effective maximum grant available is €6,000 and may cover 100% of the cost of works subject to a maximum annual household income threshold of €30,000.

Housing Aid for Older People Scheme:

This scheme provides grants of up to €10,500 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Grant eligible works include structural repairs or improvements, re-wiring, repairs to or replacement of windows and doors, provision of water supply and sanitary facilities, provision of heating, cleaning, painting etc. Maximum grant available is €10,500 which may cover up to 100% of the costs of works for applicants with gross annual household incomes of less than €30,000, tapering to 30% for those with incomes of €54,001 to €65,000.

The Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability are funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. Exchequer allocations totalling almost €64m were notified to local authorities under the schemes on 17 February 2011, giving a combined allocation of almost €79.5m. The detailed administration of these schemes, including the assessment, approval and the specific level of funding to be directed to each of the various grant measures from within the allocations notified to them by my Department, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

The Scheme of Improvement Works in Lieu of local authority housing allows local authorities to improve or extend privately owned accommodation, which is occupied or intended to be occupied by an applicant approved for social housing, as an alternative to the provision of social housing. Funding is provided by way of a secured loan which is repaid by the applicant over a 15-year period. A beneficiary under the scheme will be required to make repayments to the local authority based on household income and their ability to pay.

Outside of these measures, there is no specific housing grant scheme currently available from my Department for persons in receipt of income support or other support services from the Department of Social Protection.