Vol. 571 No. 1
1300 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if his Department provided funding to Kildare County Council for essential repair grants; if this funding is equal to funding provided in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20817/03]
1301 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if his Department provided funding to Kildare County Council for disabled persons grants; if this funding is equal to funding provided in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20818/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1300 and 1301 together.
The administration of the disabled persons and essential repairs grant schemes, including the processing of individual applications, is a matter for individual local authorities. The framework for the operation of the schemes is laid down in statutory regulations and, as far as practicable, is designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility to local authorities. Local authorities were notified of their allocations for the payment of disabled persons and essential repairs grants on 5 June 2003. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the level of funding to be provided for the disabled persons grant scheme in their areas from within the combined allocation provided. The allocation to Kildare County Council was €1.642 million. It is the responsibility of the authorities to fund the remaining one third from their own resources from amounts provided for that purpose in their annual estimates of expenditure.
Kildare County Council received a capital allocation of €1,642,000 for payment of disabled persons and essential repairs grants in 2003, which represents a significant increase over previous years. In 2001 and 2002, local authorities received combined capital allocations which included house purchase and improvement loans, disabled persons and essential repairs grants. The amounts allocated to Kildare County Council for these purposes were €1,269,738 in 2001 and €1 million in 2002. Authorities were requested to contact my Department if their allocation was either inadequate or surplus to their requirements to facilitate the re-allocation of funds and to obtain optimum effectiveness from the funding available. Applications for additional funding, including one from Kildare County Council, are now being considered in this context and a decision will issue as soon as possible to the authorities concerned.
