Housing adaptation grants
Deputy Munster highlighted long waiting lists for housing adaptation and older-person grants, especially in Louth, and sought more funding. The Tánaiste said the grants help people stay at home, noted past increases, and said he could not promise budget changes.
The Government gave a commitment to support independent living for elderly and disabled persons, yet waiting lists for housing adaptation grants and housing aid for the elderly continue to increase in every local authority. Louth County Council alone has 743 older people waiting on grants to adopt their homes. Of those, 481 were carried over from last year. The Government gave the council an increase of €50,000 this year. That is the equivalent of two wet rooms when there is a waiting list of 743 people. Will the Tánaiste give a commitment to increase the housing adaptation grant to local authorities this year and give a decent grant so that they can get through those waiting lists?
Comment on this
On the housing adaptation grants, I agree it is a useful mechanism to enable people to stay at home, which is what we all want people to be able to do if they have a disability. In the medium term, it can save costs for the Government and the taxpayer because it reduces the need for residential care.
There have been increases in the housing adaptation grant in recent years. I do not have the figures to hand but I know that there have been increases. I cannot make a commitment relating to the budget but I know that it is something that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will want to prioritise, if he can, within his allocation.
On the NBP, if Deputy McGuinness sends on some more details of the particular business, I will check it out. It is difficult to comment on any particular customer but the contract is signed. It is a €3 billion project and represents the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification. Thankfully, it will not take as long as rural electrification, which took decades, but it cannot be done quickly. At its fastest approximately 100,000 premises will be connected but because of the pandemic, we will do well to hit half of that this year. It is intended to speed it up in the coming years and there are a number of interventions that the Government is assisting the companies with in that regard. I will send the Deputy more details on that.
