Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Oct 2008

Vol. 191 No. 6

Grant Payments.

Senator Nicky McFadden

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, to the House. I am glad to see him and I thank him for being here. I have raised this matter to call on the Government to top up the grants provided to Westmeath County Council for the essential repairs scheme for people with a disability. The local authority's budget needs to be topped up so it can help people with a disability. Funding needs to be provided so that essential repairs can be carried out in the homes of disabled people. Simple adjustments can help such people to life lives that are as normal as possible.

The disabled persons grant scheme and the essential repairs grant scheme have come to a virtual standstill in County Westmeath because no money is available. I acknowledge that in previous years, funding has been made available at this time of the year. I ask that the €1 million that is usually provided be made available again this October. It is necessary if the grant schemes I have mentioned are to be administered. The schemes in question assist people who have illnesses like arthritis and angina as well as those who, unfortunately, are terminally ill.

In June of this year, Westmeath County Council wrote to people with disabilities and terminal illnesses. Some of the people in question have been on the waiting lists for these schemes for more than two years. The letter said their applications had been provisionally approved — I emphasise the word "provisionally" — pending the provision of funds from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I tried to put myself in their position. If one has just a limited amount of time to live, one would prefer to be able to stay in the comfort of one's own home with one's loved ones. Certain facilities are needed if one is to be able to do that, however. One might need a downstairs toilet or a downstairs bedroom. It does not cost much to provide these facilities, which contribute greatly to the dignity of the lives of the people in question. If one is suffering from angina, one might be physically incapable of walking up the stairs. In such circumstances, the provision of a downstairs bathroom would add significantly to one's quality of life.

I would like to mention a case I encountered recently. I refer to a lady in her early 50s who had to spend six weeks in an acute hospital after she suffered a stroke which paralysed her on one side. She was transferred to the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire, where she received excellent care. Her condition improved significantly as a result of the rehabilitative treatment she was given. She was asked to choose between going home and moving to a nursing home, at 50 years of age. She chose to go home and her husband took on the job of caring for her. Her house, which is in a rural area, badly needs to be modified and adjusted in line with her needs. She received a letter last June informing her that her grant application had been provisionally sanctioned. There is no doubt the woman in question would benefit greatly from getting a grant. It would help her to manage and maintain her life.

I ask the Minister of State to consider the allocation of more funds to Westmeath County Council and the other local authorities in the same situation. We need to ensure we do not withdraw support from those who are most needy and vulnerable. It is much better for people to be able to live in their own homes. If we provide for them to be able to live with dignity at home, rather than having to stay in a hospital or nursing home, it will represent a saving to the Exchequer.

I have serious concerns about certain grant schemes which used to be administered by the HSE. Responsibility for the schemes in question has been transferred to the local authority sector. I hate to say it, but schemes seem to be less efficient and more prone to difficulty when they are administered by local authorities. Under the old system, when a patient was being discharged, HSE staff were in a position to go to his or her house to conduct on-the-spot repairs. Hand rails, toilets and ramps could be installed, for example. It seemed that great value for money was achieved in that manner. Most importantly, patients were able to live with dignity in their own homes. I am concerned about the huge waiting list for the disabled persons grant in County Westmeath. The local authorities are being asked to undertake the home improvements for which the HSE was responsible before now. I worry about whether such works will ever be carried out.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Michael Finneran)

I thank Senator McFadden for giving me an opportunity to speak about the operation of the housing adaptation grant schemes for older people and people with a disability. The Government is aware of the critical role the adaptation grant schemes play in the context of an overall continuum of care for older people and people with a disability. Following a comprehensive review undertaken by my Department, a revised framework of adaptation grant schemes to assist older people and people with a disability with their accommodation needs was implemented in November 2007. The aim of the framework is to facilitate continued independent living at home. The revised grant framework streamlines the administrative and operational procedures governing the schemes. It provides a more targeted and integrated response to the housing needs of the target groups. It ensures the most efficient and cost-effective outcomes from the funding available. It focuses available resources on those in most need. The administration of the schemes is a matter for individual local authorities within a regulatory framework which is designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility at local level.

The housing adaptation grant schemes are funded by 80% recoupment from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of local authorities. A combined capital allocation of €71.4 million was initially made available to local authorities for the operation of the schemes in private houses in 2008. That figure has increased from about €10 million since 2000. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the specific level of funding to be directed towards each of the schemes from within the combined allocation notified to it, and to manage the operation of the schemes in its area from within this allocation.

Individual allocations were made to local authorities based on their estimated requirements, as notified to my Department, and expenditure trends in previous years. A combined capital allocation of €1.46 million was made to Westmeath County Council, in line with the allocation of €1.43 million in 2007. In response to the particularly high levels of activity under the revised schemes, which certain local authorities are currently experiencing, my Department recently made supplementary Exchequer allocations totalling €3.6 million towards the operation of these schemes by those authorities this year. As I explained to a deputation of elected representatives and officials from Westmeath when I met with them yesterday, while Westmeath County Council was not among those authorities, the issue of an additional allocation to the council will be considered in the event of further funding becoming available.

The scheme has been very successful nationally, because most of the local authorities had not put in their allocations which are needed locally to meet the scheme. Local authorities may have been caught by surprise at the level of interest in the scheme, and the Department may have been surprised as well. There was a tie-over from the old scheme to the new scheme this year. That had to be cleared up. Many of those schemes came back this year, as has been explained to me by housing officers around the country. I am conscious of the difficulties involved.

I am also conscious of the HSE issue, and that matter has not been fully resolved yet. There is a question of staff transfer and agreement needs to be reached between the local authorities and the HSE. Those discussions are ongoing and I hope they will be brought to a satisfactory conclusion soon.

Higher Education Grants.

Senator Pearse Doherty

I raise this issue on behalf of a group of parents from the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway, who have been in correspondence with the Department of Education and Science for more than a year but who have received no response to their problem. The parents are campaigning on behalf of their children who were offered third level scholarships to the value of €6,110 per annum, based on their exceptional leaving certificate results.

Recipients were given only three postal days to accept or reject the scholarship offers, and were therefore dependent on raising any queries they had by telephone with the Department. The letters of offer, which were received on 31 August 2008, were in Irish and signed by the acting principal officer of the Department in Tullamore. When the parents or children contacted the office, they were told the person who signed the letters did not understand or speak Irish. There was a then a delay in getting the English version sent out. Why does the Department of Education and Science allow such maladministration which results in gross confusion and misinformation to students?

Recipients of the Gaeltacht scholarships in 2007 have to date received payments well short of the €6,110 per annum mentioned in the letters of offer. Six of the recipients have received total amounts of €1,370 for the 2007-08 college year, while the remaining two recipients have received total amounts of €3,420. What has happened to the balance of the scholarship which remains unpaid? In 2007, the parents' group was informed by the Department that the Gaeltacht scholarship schemes were administered in accordance with the criteria and rates payable under the scheme of student supports, as administered by the local authority, which is paid to third level students based on a means test. However, this is not outlined anywhere in the guidelines regarding the terms of the Gaeltacht scholarship schemes, nor was this mentioned in the letter of offer to the scholarship recipients. This anomaly must be addressed.

The Gaeltacht scholarships are paid at two rates, namely, a lower rate paid in the case of Gaeltacht scholarship holders residing 24 km or less from the college and a higher rate being paid in all other cases. The lower rate was abandoned in the 2005-06 college year and the higher rate was paid to all recipients in that year and in subsequent years. In 2007-08, however, the two different Gaeltacht scholarship rates were reintroduced with a lower and a higher rate. This resulted in scholarship holders from the same catchment areas, including siblings living in the same households, receiving different amounts for the same scholarship. Why are such anomalies and inequalities allowed in the administration of this scheme, resulting in distress and disappointment for the young persons concerned?

The scholarship rates, which were payable at a higher and lower rate in the case of the Easter week scholarships up until 2007, were abandoned in that year and a common higher rate of €6,750 was introduced, thereby avoiding the anomalies that exist with the Gaeltacht scholarship scheme. The Donagh O'Malley scholarship, which was introduced for the first time last year, has a common maintenance rate of €6,750 regardless of place of residence. The new JP McManus third level scholarships, which will be introduced for the 2008-09 college year, will also have a common maintenance rate of €6,750, regardless of place of residence. This leaves the Gaeltacht scholarship recipients in an unfair and unequal position in comparison to all other third level scholarships.

These are concerns raised by the parents and students of the Connemara Gaeltacht, and they have informed me that such concerns are causing great distress and disappointment to all involved. They are yet to have a positive response from the Department and Minister. I hope that Minister of State's response will shed some light on the matter.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Jimmy Devins)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank the Senator for giving me this opportunity to outline the position of the Department of Education and Science on the third level Gaeltacht scholarship scheme.

The Department of Education and Science funds three Irish scholarship schemes which provide support for students progressing to third level education. These scholarships are designed specifically to recognise achievement through Irish and one of the them is exclusively for students from the Gaeltacht areas, namely, an scéim scoláireachtaí triú leibhéal do Scoláirí on nGaeltacht. Fifteen scholarships are awarded annually under this scheme to students from the Gaeltacht who sit their leaving certificate through Irish, who have attended an all-Irish second level school and reached a certain minimum standard in the leaving certificate.

The rate of scholarship is equivalent to the maximum standard rate of grant payable under the Department's maintenance grant schemes, although no means test applies in the case of these scholarships. Grants are paid at either of two rates. The non-adjacent rate is paid where the grant-holder's normal residence is more than 24 kilometres from the college attended. The adjacent rate is paid where the grant-holder's normal residence is 24 kilometres or less from the college attended. For the 2008-09 academic year, the non-adjacent rate of grant payable is €3,420, while the adjacent rate of grant payable is €1,370. All scholarships holders have received their full grant entitlement.

The Department of Education and Science operates a number of other third level scholarship schemes. These schemes have different criteria, requirements and objectives and, therefore, it is appropriate that there should be different terms and conditions pertaining to each. In addition to the Gaeltacht scholarship scheme, the Department of Education and Science provides other financial assistance to disadvantaged students, such as the student assistance fund and the millennium partnership fund. These two funds provide financial assistance for full-time higher education students who are experiencing financial difficulties while attending college. Students can apply for funding to help them with either temporary or ongoing financial difficulties. Each year, the State allocates a certain amount of student assistance funding to all publicly funded higher education colleges based on the size of the college's full-time student population. Students in need of financial support can then make application in the college for assistance under the fund.

The millennium partnership fund for disadvantage was launched in 2000 and its objective is to support students from disadvantaged areas with regard to the retention and participation in higher education courses. Area partnership companies and community partnerships manage the fund locally. Students in need of financial support in these areas can apply directly to their local community group for assistance from the fund. These funds are administered, on behalf of the Department, by the national office for equity of access to third level education. The schemes are funded by the Department of Education and Science under the National Development Plan 2007-2013, with assistance from the European Social Fund.

It is proposed to carry out a review of the three existing third level Irish scholarship schemes in the course of the current academic year to determine their continuing effectiveness in meeting their objectives. A range of issues, including the terms and conditions of the schemes, will be considered in the context of this review.

Senator Pearse Doherty

I wish to ask a supplementary question.

An Cathaoirleach

Agreed.

Senator Pearse Doherty

I appreciate the Minister of State coming back with this information. I will need to go back to the parents and talk to them. The Minister of State stated that all the recipients received their full rate. As the Minister of State is replying on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I ask him to check with the Minister that the letter of offer received by the recipients of the Gaeltacht scholarship in 2007 stated that the grant payable was €6,110. This is the information I have received. I outlined in my contribution what the recipients have received so far which corresponds with what the Minister of State informs me are the maximum rates. The anomaly may be in what was presented to them in the letter of offer and I suggest we could follow this up privately.

Deputy Jimmy Devins

I thank the Senator for that comment. I will undertake to make inquiries in the Department and come back to him.

The Seanad adjourned at 1.25 p.m. until noon on Tuesday, 14 October 2008.