Vol. 270 No. 2
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will introduce legislation to amend the law regarding grants for private houses; and if, in view of the high cost of building sites, he will consider giving the same grants to wage earners as to farmers.
87.
asked the Minister for Local Government if, in view of the increased cost of building materials, he will consider raising grants for private houses to £2,000.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 87 together.
I am having a comprehensive review made of the scheme of new house and improvement grants for private houses, including the various rates and types of grants. Pending the completion of that review, I am not in a position to propose changes in the various grant aids for private housing.
The Minister will agree, I am sure, that it is time that the grants for the wage earner were on a par with those for the farmer, who at least has the site while the wage earner has to buy it? At the present moment, as far as I know, the maximum for a man with £125 valuation is £920. These figures should be levelled off. A sum of £920 at the present moment is totally inadequate because the cost of building has gone up in the last 18 months, as the Minister knows by anything up to £2,000 per house. The grants should be brought up to this level.
I might not disagree too much with sentiments expressed by Deputy Callanan in his first supplementary but I think he is being a little bit unreal when he talks about a grant of £2,000 when the present maximum grant under the Department of Local Government is £450.
I meant the double grant. At the moment, as the Minister is aware, if a man is building a house in an isolated area and he has to put down two electric poles he has to pay the very high cost of installation.
The Deputy is making a statement.
Could the Minister say when he expects the review of the grants to be completed?
I could not tell the Deputy that because the review is going on and it is not a matter which can be dealt with very quickly. I hope it will be completed within the next couple of months.
It is going on for a long time.
There was none of it done in the Deputy's time.
