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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 19 Feb 2009

Vol. 193 No. 17

Housing Aid for the Elderly.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Finneran. I want to ask him about the schemes administered by local authorities for housing aid for different groups, mostly for elderly or disabled people. Within the past 12 months responsibility for a number of schemes that previously rested with the former health boards has been transferred to local authorities. Those schemes have been combined with a number of existing schemes run by local authorities and as a result, last year local authorities were inundated with applications for funding under the schemes.

I raise this on the Adjournment due to the fact that in Kilkenny, the area with which I am most familiar, there are a number of outstanding difficulties for people who are trying to get funding to provide necessary improvements to their homes. The current position in the housing department of Kilkenny County Council is that it will provide funding for repairs to roof damage and similar, related problems, but if elderly people have problems with poor windows or lack of heating, the local authority cannot address them this year. A standard letter issued by the county council states that this year's funding will largely be spent on roof repairs and that any repairs to windows or the cost of installation of heating cannot be covered because it does not have the money for it.

I note that within the past week a parliamentary question was put down in the Lower House about the current position with this funding. In his reply, the Minister stated that his Department is liaising with local authorities with regard to how much funding will be allocated. What is the position with that? It should have been concluded by now. There is a huge backlog of people in the system who have been approved for work to be carried out, but local authorities cannot given them the money to complete the work as the funding is not available. A number of local authorities are allowing people to do the work. People can borrow from the credit union or elsewhere and the money will be repaid when the grant is paid. However, the people seeking this funding are either disabled, elderly or ill — some are in all three categories — and many of them are not in a position to get a loan from a credit union or any other institution. It is not the best time to be seeking loans from any institution.

Perhaps the Minister will shed light on this issue. I refer specifically to the essential repairs grant, the disability grant and the housing aid for older people grant. Will there be an increase in funding for those schemes this year given that there is such demand for them? When will the funding for local authorities be announced? Is the Government serious about tackling the backlog that exists as a result of the amalgamation of the schemes that were previously operated by the health boards with those operated by local authorities?

I thank the Senator for giving me this opportunity to discuss the operation and funding of the suite of housing adaptation grant schemes for older people and people with a disability in 2009. The new suite of grant schemes replaced the previous disabled person's and essential repairs grant schemes late in 2007.

I attach great importance to these schemes which play a vital role in facilitating the continued independent occupancy of their own homes by older people and people with a disability. In line with my objective of prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable households, I underlined my commitment to ensuring the continued effectiveness of the schemes by announcing an 8% increase in funding for the schemes in 2009. The new suite of grant schemes is funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department together with 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority.

As the Senator will be aware, funding and activity under the schemes has been accelerating year on year, with expenditure increased from €13 million in 1997 to over €71 million ten years later. During that time, 74,000 grants have been paid. This represents 74,000 older people and people with a disability who have been assisted in remaining in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. In May 2008, I announced a combined capital allocation of €71.4 million for the operation of the schemes for last year. In addition, to take account of the significantly increased levels of activity under the grant schemes experienced by local authorities in 2008, supplementary Exchequer allocations totalling €15 million were made in September, October and December. This level of funding supported the carrying out of badly needed adaptation works to over 12,000 disadvantaged households.

In preparing the allocation of funding to individual local authorities for the operation of these schemes in 2009, my Department has been in regular contact with individual local authorities on a range of relevant issues, including the levels of activity experienced under the schemes in 2008; the levels of claims on hand; the degree to which prioritisation of applications has taken place and the anticipated levels of activity in 2009. In view of the anticipated high levels of demand under the schemes once again this year, I am conscious of the need for local authorities to be able to deploy available resources as early as possible in order to maximise their impact for households availing of the schemes. Local authorities will therefore be notified of their capital allocations in respect of the housing adaptation grant schemes for older people and people with a disability immediately following the publication of the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2009.

As in previous years, it will then be 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 them by my Department and to manage the operation of the schemes in their areas from within this allocation.

The Minister said there will be an 8% increase in funding for the schemes in 2009. Is that an 8% increase on the €71.4 million originally allocated for 2008 or the €86.4 million spent in 2008?

The Revised Estimates will be available shortly and they will determine the allocation. I provided in the original Estimates for an 8% increase.

It appeared in the response to the parliamentary question that it is an increase on the €71.4 million.

It is an increase of 8% on 2008.

Yes, on the original allocation for 2008.

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