asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware that reductions have been made in the amount of the grants under the Housing (Amendment) Acts, although the houses have been completed according to specification, and certificates of approval issued by his Department and the local authorities; and, if so, if he will state the circumstances in which these reductions have been made and the authority for them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Grants.
I am aware that such reductions have been made but I am not aware that reductions have been made in any cases where the work had been carried out in full compliance with the Department's standard specifications.
Housing grants are allocated to applicants in the first instance on a provisional basis. If the work carried out is regarded as unsatisfactory while the building is in progress or when the house is completed, an effort is made to induce the applicant to have the defects remedied by the builder. Cases often arise, however, where such defective work has not or could not be remedied and it is the practice in such cases to impose appropriate reductions in the grants provisionally allocated. These reductions are made in accordance with the powers conferred on the Minister under Article 3 (3) of the Housing (New Houses) Regulations, 1948, and Article 7 (3) of the Housing (New Houses) Regulations, 1950.
If certificates of approval are given by the Department's inspectors and by inspectors of the local authority after inspections of the particular building in question and subsequently reductions are made, is the Minister satisfied that these reductions are warranted?
The appointed officer is entitled in the first case to give a certificate of approval for the work which the applicant proposes to carry out. When he has issued an approval certificate, it does not mean that the applicant will actually carry out the work in accordance with the specifications. At a later stage the appointed officer may inspect the house when it is in a more or less raw state, may detect nothing wrong with it and may issue an approval certificate for the payment of part of the State grant. It is only when the house is completed and before the final instalment is paid that the Minister's representative makes a report on the manner in which the regulations have been carried out and the house constructed. If it is found that there are defects which can be remedied, the applicant is asked to have them remedied. The Deputy will admit, however, that there could be defects in certain cases that would be incapable of being remedied except at a very substantial cost. In such cases, in order to mark disapproval of such standards in the building of a house, small penalties are imposed.
I appreciate the point the Minister makes. Assuming, however, that after all the inspections have been carried out and the work is passed as satisfactory a reduction is made, is the Minister satisfied that a reduction in that case is warranted?
A reduction is never made by the Minister which is not based upon the report of his own representative after an official inspection of a house.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will make arrangements to ensure that farmers and others living in urban areas will be entitled to the same rights as regards reconstruction and other grants as farmers and others living in rural areas.
Grants for new houses are available on scales which are not affected by the occupation or place of residence of the applicant. Likewise, the reconstruction grants available to farmers up to £50 valuation and to persons coming within the definition of "agricultural labourer" are not affected by the place of residence. I am not, therefore, aware of any existing distinction between urban and rural areas of the kind suggested by the Deputy.