Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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27. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the results and plans for implementation of the review completed by his Department on local authority adaptation grants and when the new measures contained in the review will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15164/24]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total amount of money spent in Cork on housing adaption grants in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15654/24]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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136. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if consideration is being given to provide a grant scheme, independent of the disabled persons grants administered by local authorities, for building or capital works for homeowners who have family members with significant disabilities that mean their homes are not suitable for the person to live in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9353/24]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 39, 72 and 136 together.

My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to support the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which support older and disabled people (including applicants with significant disabilities) living in private houses to adapt their home to meet their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, 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 and prioritisation, is the responsibility of local authorities. My Department is not considering the introduction of new grant schemes at this time.

Details of allocations, the number of grants paid and the amount spent by all local authorities in 2023, including for Cork City Council and Cork County Council, are available on my Department's website at the following link: gov - Other local authority housing scheme statistics (www.gov.ie)

The administration of the grants scheme, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of grant applications under the various measures, is the responsibility of each local authority. Having considered all of the circumstances in any particular case, it is a matter for the local authority to determine grant eligibility. Local authorities, in administering the scheme, work with qualifying applicants to secure the most beneficial outcome possible in line with the applicants' financial circumstances and within the parameters of the Grant Scheme.

The 2024 Exchequer provision of €74.5 million or €93.125 million when accounting for the local authority contribution is an increase of €8 million Exchequer funding continuing the year on year increases since 2014.

My Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of available funding. This means that any underspends that arise on the part of any local authority can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity and my Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year. My Department encourages all local authorities to ensure all applications on hand are processed to the degree possible for final payment to ensure optimal spend on their annual allocation. Whilst additional Exchequer funding may become available, the local authorities must provide the 20% match funding from their own resources and therefore the local authorities are also managing the scheme within the resources allocated at the local level.

Housing for All commits to reviewing the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme and a report on the review has been prepared by my Department. The review was informed by engagement with external stakeholders, including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Written submissions were also invited and considered as part of this process. Among the areas which the review considered are the income thresholds that apply and the grant limits.

On foot of my consideration of the Review report, my Department shared the report and supplementary analysis with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and is engaging with that Department on the recommendations in the report with a view to bringing forward amendments to the relevant Regulations governing the schemes as soon as possible.