Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Oct 1996

Vol. 470 No. 3

Written Answers. - Grant Payments.

Cecilia Keaveney

Question:

98 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for the Environment the current position in relation to the essential repair grant as laid down in his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 107 of 10 October 1996, in which he stated that authorities may pay grants up to the full approved cost of the repairs, then qualifies this by putting a maximum level of £5,173 on such a grant and authorities can recoup half of their expenditure but places a limit of £900 per individual case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18919/96]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment (Ms McManus)

As set out in the earlier reply, essential repairs grants are payable by local authorities for houses which cannot be made fit for human habitation in all respects at a reasonable cost in circumstances where, with the carrying out of the essential repairs, the house can continue to meet short-term accommodation needs. The maximum grant limit reflects the fact that essential repairs rather than full scale improvement works are envisaged under the scheme.

The scheme is administered by local authorities and it is a matter for each authority to determine, subject to the conditions of the scheme, the level of grant payments in individual cases. My Department assists authorities in relation to their expenditure under the scheme by recouping to them half of their expenditure on such grants, up to a recoupment limit of £900 in any one case. The average recoupment by my Department in the first nine months of 1996 was £723.