Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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388.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government what financial assistance, if any, is available to assist with the cost of works on a house due to rising damp in the home of an individual who is registered blind, living alone, in full-time employment and owns their own home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24797/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have any grant available specific to the remediation of rising damp in private homes.

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.

The Housing Aid for Older People scheme provides grants of up to €8,000 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Grant qualifying works comprise essential works which make a property habitable including structural repairs or improvements, upgrade to electrical wiring, repair or replacement of windows and doors, provision of heating (where there is no central heating or it is broken beyond repair), etc. The detailed administration of the schemes is the responsibility of the local authorities, therefore the qualifying works is a matter for consideration and decision on a case-by-case basis by the local authority within the scope of the grant scheme.

Further details on these schemes are available on my Department's website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/service/6636c-housing-adaptation-grants-for-older-people-and-people-with-a-disability/.

Grants are also available to improve the energy efficiency of a property. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administer these grants and further details are available on the SEAI website at the following link: www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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389.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason local authorities are now seeking P21s for pensioners in relation to housing adaption and housing aid grants (details supplied); and his views on whether this is waste of resources across various Departments and that local authorities need to be instructed to cease seeking this information. [24801/24]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for 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.

The schemes are means tested and operate on a sliding scale with the highest percentage grants available to those with the lowest incomes and vice versa. Evidence of household income must be submitted to local authorities with all applications under the scheme. This documentation is not shared with my Department.

Income from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) is usually included on a Statement of Liability or Income Tax Assessment. While some applicants only source of income may be from DEASP, guidance issued by my Department to local authorities recommends that a statement from DEASP stating weekly/annual payments will be sufficient.