Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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39. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will work with Donegal County Council to ensure that affordable housing schemes can be delivered across the county as soon as possible, in acknowledgment of the growing number of families in Donegal who cannot afford to purchase their own home. [35224/25]

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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40. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will increase the overall national allocation for the housing adaptation grant scheme for older people and people with disabilities, in view of significant demand, increasing costs, and the essential role these grants play in enabling people to live safely and independently in their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35791/25]

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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49. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are proposals to deal with the backlog of housing adaptation grant applications at Louth County Council, which have been paused until November 2025 due to a lack of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35628/25]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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51. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department will provide additional funding to Sligo County Council and Leitrim County Council for the housing adaption grant scheme for older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35416/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 40, 49 and 51 together.

My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People scheme, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, which are now 85% funded from the Exchequer, with a 15% contribution from the resources of the local authority under the revised scheme which commenced from 1 December 2024. The detailed administration of the scheme including assessment, approval, prioritisation and budgetary apportionment is the responsibility of local authorities.

The Exchequer funding available for these grants in 2025 has been increased substantially by €25 million to €99.5 million, or over €117 million when accounting for the local authority contribution, continuing the year on year increases since 2014.

Sligo County Council received an Exchequer allocation for 2025 of almost €1.8 million which is an increase of 35% on the 2024 original allocation. Leitrim County Council received an Exchequer allocation for 2025 of over €1.16 million which is an increase of 37% on the 2024 original allocation.

Louth County Council received an Exchequer allocation for 2025 of almost €2.7 million which is an increase of 36% on the 2024 original allocation. Louth County Council informed my Department that the local authority paused the acceptance of priority 2 and priority 3 applications but are continuing to consider priority 1 applications. Priority 1 is defined as individuals who are terminally ill, primarily dependent on family or a carer, or where adaptations to the home would support applicants leaving hospital or residential care.

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 advises local authorities annually that, as far as practicable, a percentage of the allocation under the schemes should be ring fenced in respect of any emergency applications which might arise under these schemes during the course of the year. Consequently, all local authorities manage their schemes to ensure access to the grants programme is maintained to the extent possible throughout the year on a priority basis.