Vol. 550 No. 1
8 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will extend the scope of the essential repair grant scheme to enable persons under 65 years of age with physical or mental disabilities and who are on social welfare payments to qualify for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6350/02]
In accordance with the statutory regulations, the essential repairs grant scheme is operated by local authorities and is designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility to the authorities. Within broad overall guidelines set by my Department, it is a matter for each local authority to decide the level of funding to be provided for the scheme in its area, to assess the circumstances of each individual applicant, to decide what works are necessary to prolong the useful life of the house for the occupants, to determine the level of grants in individual cases and the circumstances in which a grant may be paid. Neither the guidelines nor the regulations governing the essential repairs grant scheme specify an age qualification and a local authority could make grant assistance under the scheme available in the circumstances set out in the question depending on the other individual circumstances of the case.
Apart from the essential repairs grant scheme, local authorities may also pay a grant for the provision of additional accommodation or necessary works of adaptation to a house to meet the needs of a disabled member of the household under the disabled persons grant scheme.
I thank the Minister for his reply. As this is a matter for individual local authorities, it is the level of funding available to local authorities which restricts the schemes. My local authority is introducing this scheme for the first time this year, but only at a very minimal level because of lack of funding to local authorities, as distinct from the recoupment money being made available by the Department. As I have done on many previous occasions, I appeal to the Minister to increase the discretionary funding available to local authorities.
I accept the Deputy's point, but I would put it another way. It depends on the level of priority the local authority members put on schemes such as this. In recent years the Department has increased the level of grants allowed. The terms have been changed to increase the levels from €2,286, the maximum prior to 1998, to €9,530 now. We also changed the recoupment rules from half to two-thirds of the amount, subject to those limits. If the local authorities have specific problems within their own budgets they must try to prioritise by focusing spending on essential repairs grants rather than elsewhere.
The question referred to the 65-year age requirement. Most local authorities apply that rule which was probably adopted at managerial level at a particular time. I have said to various members of housing SBCs around the country that if that is the policy of their local authority, they have the power to make exceptions as required.
