Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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2249. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the criteria for the allocation of funding under the housing adaptation grant scheme to local authorities across the State; and the reason the 2017 allocation to Donegal County Council is a fraction of the amount allocated to other local authorities serving a population less than County Donegal. [28719/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Allocations in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability have been made to local authorities, for many years, based on their levels of contractual commitments. Local authorities were encouraged to maintain continuity in approving and paying grants and therefore, commitments carried forward into the new financial year had first call on available funding.  This approach supported authorities that kept the grant schemes open and continued to approve eligible applications.  Other local authorities adopted a more cautious approach and closed schemes when applications reached a certain level.  

This had resulted in certain local authorities receiving a higher allocation than others per head of population. In response, the increases that have been  secured in funding for these grants in recent years have been distributed in line with population. This approach has meant that no local authority's annual allocation has been decreased in recent years, but the distribution of funding is being progressively re-balanced with each increase, to be more aligned with population and that process will continue.

The careful management of these grants each year also supports the re-distribution of funding to those local authorities that have need and capacity for a greater level of spend. Any underspends emerging over the course of the year are re-allocated to local authorities that require additional funding and in this way, for example, Donegal County Council was allocated additional funding in 2016 over and above their original allocation. This approach will also continue in 2017.