asked the Minister for Local Government if he proposes to include the moderately mentally handicapped under the extended local authorities grants scheme for the reconstruction and adaption of houses which was announced on 27th June, 1975.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - House Reconstruction and Adaption.
30.
The Government, at my request, decided to extend the scope of the scheme of grants for the adaptation of houses occupied by physically disabled persons to enable grants to be paid for the adaptation of houses to accommodate severely mentally handicapped persons.
Under the extended scheme, a grant may be paid for work started on or after the 1st July, 1975 in cases where the local authority is satisfied that a member of a household suffers from severe mental handicap and that the existing accommodation in the house is inadequate for his proper treatment or segregation from other members of the household.
I consider the extension of the scheme to facilitate severely mentally handicapped persons a very worthwhile step. However, it is not proposed, at present, to extend the scheme to include moderately or mildly mentally handicapped persons.