Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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108. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to deal with the large number of persons waiting extended periods for adaption grants in order to make their homes suitable to meet their special physical needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33775/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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On 22 February 2013 I announced capital allocations to local authorities under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability am ounting to €42.750 million. This year I allocated local authorities the full amount of their contractual commitments and the balance of the available funding was allocated on the basis of each authority’s share of the new applications on hand in January 2013.

A small capital reserve was set aside to deal with any acute or particular difficulty which might arise in the operation of the schemes over the course of the year. Following requests from 13 local authorities for supplementary funding, I subsequently approved additional allocations totalling €1.2 million. I am continuing to keep the level of funding available under active review.

My Department is currently reviewing the operation of the grant schemes in consultation with the local authorities and groups representing older people and people with disabilities with the objective of targeting those in most need and ensuring that the maximum numbers of households can benefit from these schemes. I intend to announce revised terms and conditions for the grant schemes later this year.