asked the Minister for the Environment the reasons for the undue delay in the payment of building reconstruction grants in County Wexford, and if there is a sufficient number of inspectors dealing with such grants in the county.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - House Improvement Grants.
8.
Delays have occurred in the processing of house improvement grant applications in County Wexford and elsewhere because of the very large number of applications received prior to the announcement on 21 January 1980 of the termination of the grants scheme. The unprecedented volume of applications received between that date and 1 February 1980 added to the problem.
Every effort is being made to speed up inspections with a view to payment of grants by the recruitment of temporary inspectors, the working of overtime by the existing inspectors and the redeployment of inspectors to areas of pressure of work.
9.
asked the Minister for the Environment the reasons for cancelling all house improvement grant allocations in respect of applications received prior to 21 January 1980.
Existing improvement grant allocations were cancelled in order to establish the eligibility for the grants of persons to whom such allocations were issued. To qualify for payment of a grant a completed application form must have been received in my Department on or before 1 February 1980 and it must be established that on or before 21 January 1980—
(1) the works had commenced, or
(2) a binding agreement for carrying out the works had been entered into by the applicant, or
(3) the necessary materials had been purchased by the applicant.
The fact that a grant had been allocated would not entitle the holder to claim payment of a grant unless he complied with those requirements. A person to whom a grant had been allocated and who also satisfied one or more of those requirements will continue to be eligible for a grant, provided the approved work is completed and a request for payment is received in my Department before 1 October 1980.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Arising out of the Minister's reply, I do not think that the information which he has given replies to the question. Would the Minister tell us, as asked in Question No. 9, the reasons for cancelling all house improvement grant allocations? That is the question—the reason for cancelling them as from the 21 January.
The reason for cancelling them is that the funds available now are being channelled to those who are most needy of them. Those who are in need of grants will still qualify.
(Cavan-Monaghan): But would the Minister tell us who qualified for grants under the existing scheme? My understanding is that all grants have been cancelled except for a very limited number to physically and mentally handicapped people.
And we have many of those people.
That is right. We have increased the housing loans for new houses and also for repairs to houses.
(Cavan-Monaghan): I am aware that the Minister has increased the limit of loans, but is the Minister aware that these loans cost £35 per week and are beyond the capacity to pay of the people who require them?
Everyone was asking the Government and myself to increase the amount of the loans and to increase the income limits. I received a number of letters thanking me for doing that.
Deputies
Hear, hear.
They were delighted with it.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Did anybody ask the Minister to discontinue the grants?
I want to give the Deputy a little reminder, because he might want a refresher. In 1976, the Coalition Government did away with the new house grants overnight, by way of a means test. The following year they did away with almost all the improvement grants also by means of another means test, and they gave the people no grace at all. At least we had the courtesy——
Fianna Fáil give no grants at all.
——to give them two weeks' notice and anybody who wanted to make an application under the rules and regulations will be looked after. Let there be no worry about it.
No grants about it.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister not aware that in the period about which he is talking grants for improvements and new houses were limited by a means test? Is he still not aware that under the present position a millionaire can get a grant of £1,000 for a new house but an unfortunate who has not a bathroom in his house cannot get a shilling?
That is not so.
(Cavan-Monaghan): He cannot get a shilling to install a bathroom and the millionaire can get a £1,000 for his new house.
(Interruptions.)
Order, order, one at a time.
I want to say that I am quite happy with the progress we are making in this matter.
A millionaire budget.
Let us have one Deputy at a time on either side of the House.
You will not find a millionaire without a bathroom.
(Interruptions.)
Was it the case that in 1977 in a certain infamous manifesto there was a commitment to increase and extend the house reconstruction grants system? In this situation how can the Minister now justify the total abolition of housing improvement grants?
We have done that. We have honoured our commitment in regard to that. I shall be giving more details when I move on to later questions. I shall give information which will be very interesting to Opposition Deputies.
10.
(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for the Environment if he will extend the time for making applications for house improvement grants to 1 April 1980.
I do not intend to extend the time for the receipt of applications for house improvement grants.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister not aware that the cancelling of these grants as from 21 January and the requirement that all outstanding applications should be received by 1 February is creating an impossible situation for people who have work done but could not get the applications in? Would the Minister have another look at this when he gets into his office with a view to extending the time?
In reply to the Deputy, I want to say that 44,000 applications came in and not one application was refused. My staff at O'Connell Bridge House handled the people with kindness, courtesy and efficiency.
(Cavan-Monaghan): They did not handle the Minister with kindness and courtesy; they would not let him in.
Also, we gave everybody a good opportunity, two weeks' notice, not like when the Opposition were in office and shut down overnight.
(Interruptions.)
Order.
I am not in a bit of a hurry; I love this.
The Minister is not enjoying it half as much as I am.
(Cavan-Monaghan): If cases of hardship are brought to the Minister's notice and he is satisfied that people could not get applications in before 1 February, will he not consider giving a short extension of the time?
The answer is no. Actually, it is a coincidence that the Deputy wants it extended to All Fools' Day.
(Interruptions.)
I am calling the next question.
(Interruptions.)
11.
Mr. T.J. Fitzpatrick
(Cavan-Monaghan) and Mr. F. O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment the number of current applications for house improvement grants and the length of time required to process them.
It is not practicable to indicate the precise number of cases at any given date in which applications for house improvement grants have been received in my Department and the grant has not been paid or the application has not been rejected. Factors such as delays in notification to my Department of completion of work, the submission of contractors' certificates, evidence of entering into binding commitments and so on affect the time required to process applications.
Deputies
Chair, Chair.
If the Deputies would behave we might hear the answers. The answer to that question was not heard.
Sufficient supplementary questions should be allowed.
The Chair is the sole judge of the number of supplementaries that should be asked and we have had quite a number. Deputy Fitzpatrick was on his feet and I meant to call him but the noise was too great.
(Cavan-Monaghan): In regard to Question No. 10, which requests an extension of the time for putting in applications for grants in respect of work which had started before 21 January, will the Minister not have a look at applications which come in late? If he is satisfied that they are genuine and that hardship is being created would he not extend the time?
No. I have made up my mind on that and the answer is no. I am satisfied that with the two weeks allowed to applicants they had sufficient notice to apply and I have received no complaints.
Are by-law approval and planning permission required before the application is accepted?
It all depends on the type of application.
I am asking if by-law approval and planning permission are required for any exterior extension before the application is accepted? That is a very reasonable question.
No, before application these are not required, but on the payment of a grant if an extension is involved, yes, you must get planning permission from the local authority.
This is very important. When somebody builds an extension for which planning permission is required would that permission have to be obtained prior to the application being accepted? In other words, when 21 January came and planning permission had not been obtained from the local authorities, was the application accepted?
Yes, it would be. My Department would write to the applicant and inform him that he would have to comply with the planning regulations if it was an extension. If it was indoor work, new windows or such, this would not apply at all.
I know that.
If a person applied to my Department for a grant in connection with an extension and had not planning permission at the time but procured it before the grant was paid that was in order. My apologies if I did not make this clear earlier.
The Minister might repeat his reply to Question No. 11.
It is not practicable to indicate the precise number of cases at any given date in which applications for house improvement grants have been received in my Department and the grant has not been paid or the application has not been rejected. Factors such as delays in notification to my Department of completion of work, the submission of contractors' certificates, evidence of entering into binding commitments and so on affect the time required to process applications.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister saying that it is not possible to state the number of current applications in his Department at present?
In regard to all grants?
(Cavan-Monaghan): No, house improvement grants.
There are 55,000 approximately in my Department now.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister know how long it will take to process those?
At the moment we are indexing, doing the filing and processing them as quickly as we can. The Deputy can rest assured there will be no undue delay.
(Cavan-Monaghan): It looks to me as if it will take years.
(Interruptions.)
(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister know that it is impossible to get a reply other than an acknowledgement from that section of his Department at the moment?
Things are improving. Owing to the cumbersome means test which the Coalition Government brought in the whole system was nearly brought down.
(Interruptions.)
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister aware that this is the same Department which had to abandon the driving test regulations because they could not operate them?
That is not a relevant question. Question No. 12.
(Cavan-Monaghan): The position now is that this section is closing down. Will the Minister do something about it?