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Departmental Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 July 2021

Thursday, 15 July 2021

Ceisteanna (187, 188)

Martin Browne

Ceist:

187. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a list of all requests received from local authorities for additional funding for housing adaptation grants since 2016, in tabular form. [38724/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Martin Browne

Ceist:

188. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authorities which did not spend their full allocation of funds for housing adaptation grants since 2016, by year in tabular form. [38725/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 188 together.

My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, which are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of this scheme including assessment, approval and prioritisation, is the responsibility of local authorities. Local authorities receive an overall allocation, with the responsibility for the apportionment between the three schemes being a matter for each authority given their knowledge of local need.

My Department's approach each year is to issue a single full year allocation to each local authority, so they can plan and implement the grants programme. Over the course of the year, my Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of the available funding. This means that if underspends arise on the part of some local authorities, they can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity.

The following table contains details of the number of local authorities which did not draw down their full allocation under the scheme from 2016 - 2020.

Year

Number of Local Authorities

2016

21

2017

14

2018

15

2019

17

2020

26

Separately, the following table contains details of additional exchequer funding requested and drawn down by local authorities under the scheme from 2016 - 2020, and currently requested for 2021.

exchequer funding requested

Question No. 188 answered with Question No. 187.
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