Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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141. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the current situation in which the funding for housing adaptation grants is inadequate to cope with demand, leading to a situation in which many county councils have significant backlogs which have rolled over from 2020 and are causing long delays given his commitment to supporting elderly persons to live in their own homes; if he plans to increase the funding to local authorities in order to clear the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46427/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Funding of €75 million is available nationally in 2021 for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme. This funding has increased year on year since 2014. As part of the annual budgetary process, consideration will be given to increasing this funding in future years in line with the Programme for Government commitments and the Policy Statement on Housing Options for Our Ageing Population, which is available on my Department's website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea33c1-housing-options-for-our-ageing-population-policy-statement/

The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, which are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of these schemes including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment between the three schemes is the responsibility of local authorities.

My Department's approach every year is to issue a single full year allocation to each local authority, so they can plan and implement the grants programme. Over the course of the year, my Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of the available funding. This means that if underspends arise on the part of some local authorities, they can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity. If a local authority is dealing with a high level of applications and is in a position to allocate additional own resources to the grant scheme in 2021, further additional funding can be requested from my Department and every effort will be made to accede to any such request.

The receipt and processing of housing grant applications can and has continued throughout the pandemic and the carrying out of such works was specifically exempted from the construction restrictions under the public health regulations which were put in place. It is accepted however that the pace has been affected by the effects of wider restrictions and revised work methodologies necessary in response to the pandemic. Inevitably this has led to a backlog of applications in some local authorities. Officials from my Department are engaging with local authorities and emphasising the importance of urgently reducing any existing backlog through the provision of additional resources and ensuring that all applications are dealt with in accordance with Departmental guidelines.

Finally as detailed in Housing for All, housing policy objectives 6 and 7 give a commitment to undertaking a review of the range of housing grants available to assist with meeting specific housing needs both for our ageing population and people with a disability. Officials from my Department will begin a review of the existing grant schemes later this year.