Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
647. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review correspondence from Monaghan County Council (detail supplied); if he will address the concerns outlined; and the measures that his Department is taking to address these issues. [40093/22]
View answerMy Department provides funding to local authorities for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme. These schemes assist eligible applicants living in privately owned homes to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Funding of €81.25 million is available nationally in 2022 which is an increase of €6.25 million on the 2021 provision of €75 million, continuing the year on year increases since 2014.
My Department notified all local authorities of their individual allocations for the scheme on 28 March 2022, with Monaghan County Council receiving a combined allocation of €1,303,725. This allocation was comprised of €1,042,980 Exchequer funding and €260,745 to be funded from the local authority's own resources.
My Department works closely with local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of the available funding. Monaghan County Council sought an additional allocation of €696,275 under the scheme, comprising of €557,020 Exchequer funding with the remaining €139,255 to be funded from own resources. My Department issued approval for this request to Monaghan County Council on 28 June 2022.
In addition, a review of the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability is currently underway in my Department. The review is to be completed by the end of 2022.
