asked the Minister for the Environment if he will restore the housing reconstruction supplementary grant scheme which he recently abolished; and if he considers the present Department grant of £600 to be adequate to meet the needs of present-day building costs and materials.
Written Answers. - House Reconstruction Grant.
368.
I do not propose to restore the supplementary grant scheme.
The new maximum State grant of £600 is a reasonable increase over the former £200 maximum grant, particularly as fewer applicants were qualifying for the former grants because of the imposition of valuation limits which made many persons ineligible for grants. In addition, many people who qualified for the former State grants did not qualify for supplementary grants because of additional qualifications imposed by local authorities.