Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

157. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason Meath County Council, despite having one of the highest populations in the State, received the lowest amount of funding for the housing adaptation grants of the 34 local authorities. [9967/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I recently announced capital allocations to local authorities amounting to €38.4 million under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. I have increased the level of funding available for the grant schemes by 12% in 2014 . Every local authority has increased funding for grants compared to the allocations for 2013. Meath County Council’s overall allocation under the grant schemes for 2014 is €572,776 compared to €499,545 last year. Allocations in 2014 were determined on the basis of the level of grant activity in local authorities in 2013 and on population statistics with a weighting applied in respect of the numbers of persons aged over 65 years.

Through careful management of my Department’s housing budget in 2013, additional funds were made available to local authorities with high levels of grant activity, including Meath County Council. I will be applying the same close scrutiny to the capital budget for 2014 and, in the event of savings arising, these grants will be a priority for supplementary funding.

In January 2014, some changes to the terms and conditions of the grant schemes were notified to local authorities. These changes are intended to spread the benefits of the schemes as widely as possible and to ensure fairness and value for money in their operation. I am aware that the grant measures are heavily subscribed across all local authority areas and my Department will be requesting authorities to prioritise those applications where the most urgent need exists.