Vol. 482 No. 3
250 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the ceiling for the grant for providing extensions to accommodate a person with a disability was last increased; the percentage increase in the building cost index in the intervening period; and the cost of increasing the level of grant in line with that movement. [17852/97]
Disabled person's grants are payable by housing authorities in accordance with the terms of the Housing (Disabled Persons and Essential Repairs) Grants Regulations, 1993. These regulations do not impose a ceiling on the amount a housing authority may pay in respect of a disabled person's grant other than to specify that the grant shall not exceed: the approved cost of the works in the case of a rented local authority house, and two thirds of the approved cost of the works in any other case.
The regulations provide for recoupment by my Department of 50 per cent of the cost of each disabled person's grant paid by a housing authority, subjecty to a maximum which was last increased to £4,000 in respect of works commenced on or after 1 March 1993. In practice, housing authorities generally limit the grant they pay to twice the maximum recoupment available from my Department. Therefore, the effective ceiling generally for the disabled person's grant was last increased to £8,000 with effect from 1 March 1993. The increase in the house building cost index from that date to 1 October 1997 was 15.5 per cent and a corresponding increase in grant levels would cost about £1.25 million in a full year.
