Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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267. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if grants are available for renovating out-houses and sheds (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30309/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist eligible people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs.  The suite of grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability (max grant €30,000), the Mobility Aids Grant (max grant €6,000) and the Housing Aid for Older People (max grant €8,000). A means test applies to each grant scheme. 

My Department also provides funding to Donegal and Mayo local authorities in respect of homes impacted by pyrite and mica under the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.

The detailed administration of these schemes is the responsibility of the local authorities.  

My Department administers the Thatching Grant scheme, where a grant of up to €3,810, or two thirds of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, is available. In the case of medical card holders, a grant of up to €6,350, or up to 80% of the approved cost, may be payable in respect of houses situated on the mainland, rising to €8,252 where the house is situated on a specified off-shore island.  Eligibility under the grant scheme is contingent on the house being occupied as a normal place of residence on completion of the approved works.

Finally, my Department also provides financial support for the protection of heritage buildings and historic structures through two grant schemes which are, in the main, administered by the local authorities. These are the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF). Each scheme received funding of €3m for 2021. This year’s schemes are now closed but details of the 2022 schemes will be announced in November.