Vol. 573 No. 4
290 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government his estimate of the number of private houses in occupation which do not have bathrooms; and if he will consider introducing a scheme whereby pensioners could get financial assistance to provide bathrooms in houses which do not already have them. [25729/03]
It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of private houses in occupation which do not have bathrooms until the relevant housing data from census 2002 is published.
I do not have any proposals at this stage to introduce a grant scheme specifically directed at installing bathrooms. There are a number of options currently available to assist lower income households and elderly persons in particular to secure necessary improvement works to their houses. These include the local authority house improvement loan scheme, the disabled persons and essential repairs grant scheme, improvement works in lieu of local authority housing and the task force on special housing aid for the elderly.
