The capital allocation to Cork County Council, covering three local authorities, Cork north, south and west, in 2003 for the payment of disabled person's and essential repairs grants was €6,409,000. This amount was broken down between an initial allocation of €6,009,000, an additional allocation of €700,000 to Cork south and a saving of €300,000 by Cork West County Council.
The council's total expenditure on the schemes in 2003 was €6,646,491. A capital allocation of €7.315 million was made by my Department to Cork County Council for 2004. This was based on the council's estimated demand of €8 million for 2004 and its expenditure level of €6.6 million in 2003.
My Department's letter of allocation advised that where the notified allocation was likely to be either inadequate or surplus to requirements, the Department should be informed so as to facilitate reallocation of the funds and maximise the effectiveness of the programme.
My Department was informed by the council in a letter dated 21 September 2004 that payments in 2004 in the council areas of Cork north, south and west would total €2.3 million, although the allocation was €7.3 million. The stated reason for this low level of payments was the suspension of approvals by the council in 2003 due to financial constraints, which had the effect of delaying the subsequent commencement and-or completion of works in 2004. A new disabled person's grant scheme was prepared by Cork County Council during 2003 which has now been adopted and is being implemented.
It has been made clear to the council that under-spending of this magnitude is of serious concern to my Department, given the need for assistance under the schemes countrywide. The council has indicated it has now begun approving grants on the basis of the revised scheme and that this will be reflected in the payments for 2005.
The original provision for disabled person's and essential repairs grant schemes in 2004 was €65 million, an increase of 12% on the final allocation of €58 million for 2003. A further €7.7 million has been allocated to local authorities that sought increases in the past two months, thus increasing the total allocation to €72.7 million. I am confident the majority of local authorities will spend their full allocation this year.