Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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45. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if funding is available for persons seeking to remove and replace asbestos water tanks from former Cork City council homes. [26641/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have any grant available specific to the removal of asbestos from homes.  

The Housing Adaptation Grant for Older People and People with a Disability scheme provides a range of grants for necessary improvement works or adaptations to houses in order to facilitate the continued independent occupancy of their own homes by older people and people with a disability. These schemes cover works reasonably necessary for the purposes of rendering a house more suitable for the accommodation of applicants, and could in those circumstances include the removal of asbestos.

The schemes are administered by local authorities and it is a matter for each local authority to determine how the funding is apportioned between the various grant measures and to manage the operation of the schemes in their areas from within the capital allocations provided by my Department.

For private home owners, it is recommended that expert advice should be sought in dealing with asbestos materials and if removal is necessary it should only be done by a competent contractor with the required training. The safe removal of asbestos is governed by legislation and the Health and Safety Authority www.hsa.ie can provide further information in relation to the safe removal of asbestos.