Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

577. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if emergency funding will be made available to the older person and disability housing adaptation grant section of Louth County Council in order to deal with the extremely long waiting lists; his plans to restructure this funding strand for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26276/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I recently announced funding of €66.25 million nationally for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. This includes €1,498,067 for Louth County Council comprising Exchequer funding of €1,198,454 and €299,613 from the local authority, which represents an increase of €293,388 over the 2017 funding.

Details of the 2018 allocations to all local authorities are available on my Department’s website at the following link: .

Each local authority, including Louth, receives an overall allocation for the three grant schemes that make up the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. Responsibility for the apportionment between the schemes is a matter for each authority. The funding is carefully managed by my Department so that any underspends can be re-distributed to local authorities where demand and activity is high.

My main focus in terms of these grants has been to secure increases in funding, as has been achieved successfully in recent years, including for 2018. In addition, the funding is now being allocated more in line with population and this saw Louth County Council, in 2018, receive a higher than average increase in funding.