1757. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with Wicklow County Council regarding the housing adaptation grant for older people and the reported decision to cease accepting new applications; the reasons for this decision; whether additional funding will be provided to allow the scheme to reopen to new applicants; the number of applications currently awaiting assessment or approval in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57787/26]

1855. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding that was allocated to Wicklow County Council under the housing adaptation grant scheme for older people and people with disabilities in 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58802/26]

1856. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a request for additional funding has been received by Wicklow County Council for the housing adaptation grant scheme for older people and people with disabilities scheme; and if so, the status of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58835/26]

1857. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional funding for housing adaptation grants for older people and people with disabilities can be provided by his Department to Wicklow county council to allow them to resume accepting applications under this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58836/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1757 and 1855 to 1857, inclusive, together.

My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, to assist those in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, are funded by my Department with a contribution from the local authority. The detailed administration of the scheme including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment is the responsibility of local authorities.

The Exchequer funding available for these grants in 2026 increased substantially by €30 million to €129.5 million, or over €152 million when accounting for the local authority contribution, continuing the year on year increases since 2014.

Details on the allocations for 2026 are available on my Department's website at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/press-releases/increased-funding-of-almost-130m-announced-to-improve-homes-for-older-people-and-disabled-people/

Details of the allocations and drawdown for 2022, 2023 and 2024 are available on my Department's website at the following link:

https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/

Details on the original Exchequer allocations for 2025 are available on my Department's website at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/press-releases/13000-older-and-disabled-people-to-benefit-from-over-117-million-housing-adaptation-grant-funding/ 13,000 older and disabled people to benefit from over €117 million Housing Adaptation Grant funding. The final drawdown per local authority for 2025 will be published shortly on my Department's website.

My Department works closely with local authorities throughout the year to monitor expenditure and to ensure full drawdown of available funding. Where underspends arise in one local authority area, every effort is made to redistribute funding to local authorities with higher levels of grant activity and demand. My Department also advises local authorities, as far as practicable, to ring-fence a proportion of their allocation for emergency applications that may arise during the year, particularly in the highest priority cases.

The detailed administration of the scheme, including the receipt and assessment of applications, approval, prioritisation, inspection arrangements and payment of grants, is a matter for each local authority.

It is open to each local authority, including Wicklow County Council to apply for additional funding in 2026 to the Department for consideration. All local authorities, including Wicklow County Council, must optimise the administration of the grant scheme in order to achieve full spend of available national Exchequer funding annually.