Vol. 569 No. 4
144 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the amount payable in Gaeltacht areas for new home and home improvement grants; his views on the fact that it is unfair that such grants are not now available to those living or wanting to live on non-Gaeltacht islands; and his proposals in this regard. [17787/03]
My Department's new house grant available to eligible Gaeltacht island applicants is €15,300, while the house improvement grant on such islands is also €15,300. My Department's scheme as operated in the Gaeltacht is basically to provide, through a housing scheme with language based criteria, a linguistic incentive to Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas. The Deputy will be aware that housing grants for non-Gaeltacht islands are dealt with by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and that the new house grant in non-Gaeltacht areas, both on the mainland and on the islands, is no longer available. I understand that the Department has no plans to put in place a new home or house improvement grant schemes, comparable to those currently administered by my Department on Gaeltacht islands for to non-Gaeltacht islands.
Question No. 145 answered with Question No. 97.
