Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
418. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to include the replacement of double glazed windows under the housing aid for older people's grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46966/26]
View answer432. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to provide additional funding to the housing aid grants for local authorities who have now closed these grants, quoting lack of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47125/26]
View answer442. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the overall funding provided for DPGs, both social housing and private housing, in 2024 and 2025 respectively. [47265/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 418, 432 and 442 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 Housing Aid for Older People Grant is available to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Qualifying works include structural repairs or improvements, upgrading unsafe electrical wiring, drylining, repair or replacement of windows and doors and the repair or provision of central heating (where no central heating exists or the existing system is broken or beyond repair).
The administration of the grants scheme, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of grant applications under the various measures, is the responsibility of each local authority. Having considered all of the circumstances in any particular case, it is a matter for the local authority to determine grant eligibility. Local authorities, in administering the scheme, work with qualifying applicants to secure the most beneficial outcome possible in line with the applicants' financial circumstances and within the parameters of the grant scheme.
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 of the allocations and drawdown for 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: 13,000 older and disabled people to benefit from over €117 million Housing Adaptation Grant funding 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/ The final drawdown per local authority for 2025 will be published shortly on my Department's website.
My Department is aware that some local authorities have paused the acceptance of priority 2 and priority 3 applications but are continuing to consider priority 1 applications. Priority 1 is defined as individuals who are terminally ill, primarily dependent on family or a carer, or where adaptations to the home would support applicants leaving hospital or residential care.
My Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of available funding. This means that any underspends that arise on the part of any local authority can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity and my Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year. My Department is actively engaging with local authorities to facilitate redistribution of any such savings as early as possible this year. A number of local authorities have applied for an additional Exchequer allocation. My Department is giving consideration to these requests and will make a decision in this regard in due course.
My Department also provides funding to local authorities under the Disabled Persons Grants scheme to carry out works on social housing stock to address the needs of older people, people with a disability or overcrowded situations. The detailed administration of the programme is a matter for each individual local authority including prioritisation and implementation of the required measures. Therefore, details in relation to individual applications are not collated by my Department and may be available from the respective local authority upon request. Details identifying allocation versus drawdown is available at the link below.
Details of the allocations and drawdown for the years 2015 to 2025 are available on my Department's website at the following link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/disabled-persons-grant-and-improved-works-in-lieu-schemes-allocation-and-drawdown/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c472d-disabled-persons-grant-and-improved-works-in-lieu-schemes-allocation-and-drawdown-2011-2020/
