Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
825. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding adaptation grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37385/23]
View answer860. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the Housing Adaptation Grant, the estimated cost of 12,300 applicants being awarded the grant at the highest rate available. [37710/23]
View answer861. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if changes to the Housing Adaption Grant are under consideration; if it is intended to increase grants to reflect increased construction costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37711/23]
View answer918. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the means ceilings for the various housing grants for repairs and adaptations were last raised; when the ceilings for admissible costs under those schemes were last raised; if he has assessed the inflation which has occurred since then; and if he plans to review these ceilings. [38494/23]
View answerI propose to take questions Nos. 825, 860, 861 and 918 together.
My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to support the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability which support older and disabled people living in private houses to adapt their home to meet their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability (maximum grant €30,000), the Mobility Aids Grant (Maximum grant €6,000) and the Housing Aid for Older People (Maximum grant €8,000). The cost of awarding the maximum of each of these grants to any arbitrary number of applicants is calculable accordingly.
The income limits and maximum grant amounts payable under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme, introduced in S.I. 670 of 2007, were last amended in 2014 under S.I. No. 104 of 2014. Housing for All commits to reviewing the grants scheme and a report on the review has been prepared by my Department. The review was informed by engagement with external stakeholders, including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Written submissions were also invited and considered as part of this process. Among the areas which the review considered are the income thresholds (including the means test provisions) and grant limits, and the application and decision-making processes including the supplementary documentation required.
On foot of my consideration of the Review report, I have asked my Department to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on the recommendations in the Review report, and this engagement is ongoing at present. I will publish the report, including the agreed amendments to the scheme, once that engagement has concluded.
