Vol. 508 No. 1
568 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will increase the percentage of funding available to local authorities for disabled persons grants in view of the fact the moneys available to local authorities are too limited to keep pace with demand and are causing unacceptable human misery and ultimately increased costs to the Exchequer. [18484/99]
I introduced significant improvements to the terms and conditions of the disabled persons grants scheme in December last. Under the terms of the scheme, grants are payable by local authorities in the first instance with subsequent recoupment by my Department. My Department makes an annual allocation to each housing authority based on estimates of demand for the scheme provided by the authorities. It is open to housing authorities to seek a higher allocation in the event of increased demand under the scheme.
The effective maximum grant payable under the scheme was increased by 50 per cent from £8,000 to £12,000 in the case of works commenced on or after 2 December 1998. In addition, the maximum grant payable in respect of private houses was increased to three-quarters of the approved cost of the works compared to two-thirds previously. The maximum recoupment payable by my Department to local authorities in respect of each grant was also increased to two-thirds or £8,000 compared to a maximum recoupment of 50 per cent or £4,000 previously. This increase in the recoupment rate allows local authorities to pay the higher grants now available at no increased cost to the authority.
