Housing Adaptation Grant Expenditure

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Questions (167)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

167. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which the housing adaptation grant requirements in respect of older persons or persons with specific health needs continue to be met by the various local authorities; the total expenditure in this regard in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52402/13]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan)

My Department’s involvement with the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of individual grants. These schemes, introduced in November 2007, are funded by 80% recoupments available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. Details of the amounts of Exchequer funding provided to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability, together with the level of Local Authority (LA) funds provided over the period 2009 – 2013 (to 30 November) are set in the table.

-	2009	-	2010	-	2011	-	2012	-	2013
Exch.	LA	Exch.	LA	Exch.	LA	Exch.	LA	Exch.	LA
€67.014m	€16.753m	€79.303m	€19.825m	€62.808m	€15.702m	€53.414m	€13.353m	€29.904 m	€7.476m

Since 2009, over 52,000 households have benefited under the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability. The Estimates provision for the schemes in 2014 is €38.6 million. I intend to announce details of the capital allocations to individual local authorities early in 2014.