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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Nov 2003

Vol. 575 No. 4

Written Answers. - Local Authority Funding.

Pádraic McCormack

Question:

64 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if the necessary funds will be made available to local authorities to enable them again to start dealing with the applications for disabled person's grant, essential repairs grants and housing grants for the elderly. [28420/03]

Dan Neville

Question:

76 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the review of the disabled person's grant scheme, the essential repairs grant scheme and the housing aid for the elderly scheme; when the review commenced; when he expects a report on the review; and the steps he proposes to take to deal with the thousands of elderly and disabled persons who have applied for grants and who are awaiting decisions, some for over 12 months. [28469/03]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 76 together.

Local authorities were notified of a combined allocation for the payment of disabled person's and essential repairs grants in June 2003. They were requested to contact my Department if their allocation was either inadequate or surplus to their requirements to facilitate the possible re-allocation of funds and to obtain optimum effectiveness from the funding available. Allocations which were surplus to the requirements of local authorities have now been re-allocated. In addition, some shortfall anticipated due to a fall in demand for shared ownership is being used to meet commitments for disabled person's grants in 2003.

Having regard to activity under the schemes, the number of disabled person's grants paid, for example, has increased from 2,455 grants in 1998 to 5,932 in 2002. The Exchequer commitment increased from €13 million to €52.6 million over the period.

The administration of the disabled person's and essential repairs grant schemes, including the processing of individual applications, is a matter for individual local authorities. My Department recoups to local authorities two thirds of their expenditure on the payment of grants. 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.

Regarding 2004, details of the capital funding being provided for the payment of disabled person's and essential repairs grants will be made available in the revised Estimates for public services 2004 which will be published early in 2004.
The review of the disabled person's grants scheme, which commenced in March, is currently being finalised in my Department and, in that context, the relationship of the scheme with the essential repairs grants and the special housing aid for the elderly schemes is also being considered. On completion of the review, I will be able to determine the changes, if any, required to the regulations governing the schemes.
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