Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2024
257. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has ever made an exception to increase the funding available through the housing adaptation grant in exceptional circumstances, particularly where there are multiple children with special needs living in the one house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3477/24]
View answerMy Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to administer the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which support older and disabled people 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.
The income limits and maximum grant amounts payable under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme are underpinned by S.I. 670 of 2007, and amended in 2014 by S.I. No. 104 of 2014.
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. However, individual applications are solely a matter for the local authority in question.
The scheme is applicant based, and where multiple eligible applicants reside in the same household, an application can be submitted for consideration in respect of each applicant in the household. Subject to eligibility and prioritisation based on medical need, local authorities aim to process the applications collectively to secure the most beneficial outcome possible for both the applicants and the local authority.
