Vol. 520 No. 1
272 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will amend the regulations for the disabled persons reconstruction grant to allow approval to be granted by a local authority on the recommendation of a family doctor and local area engineer in order to reduce the time lapse between application and approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15206/00]
The disabled persons grant scheme is administered by local authorities in accordance with the legal framework laid down in section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979, and statutory regulations made under that Act. The framework laid down in the statutory regulations is, as far as practicable, designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility to local authorities in administering the scheme and I have no proposals to amend the regulations in this regard.
It is, accordingly, a matter for the local authority to decide the staffing resources to be made available, the level of grants in individual cases and the circumstances in which a grant may be paid. It is, of course, also a matter for the authority to ensure there are no undue delays in the processing of applications for disabled persons grants and my Department will write to local authorities in this regard in the near future.
