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THE GRANNY GRANT for childcare might be dead in the water, but ‘granny-flat grants’ are very much still in the pipeline, according to Transport Minister Shane Ross.
During the summer, the Independent Alliance said grandparents should get an annual payment of €1,000 if they help out with the childcare of their grandchildren.
However, cold water was quickly poured on the idea by Fine Gael ministers.
Fast forward a few months, and apparently a late night pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has secured commitment for the granny-flat proposal.
The idea aims to meet the needs of older people by converting their homes into two separate units.
It would involve the grant being used to convert family homes into self-contained ground floor accommodation for use by the older home owner while the upstairs area would become available for lodgers or other family members.
So, who is saying what?
Ross said the measure is not written down in today’s Budget, but he is adamant there is a commitment to roll it out.
“We got commitment that he [Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy] intends to do it,” said Ross.
He said a scheme, which is already in train and known as the Abhaile scheme, is going to be assessed to see if the idea is a runner.
Murphy confirmed the “pilot project” is just one home in Clondalkin, adding that any future funding for the granny-flat grant is dependent on the success of this one property.
The housing minister said there would need to be a “proof of process” to see if the concept works, and then it will be expanded.
TheJournal.ie asked the finance minister about the promise made to Ross.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterPaschal Donohoe says he told Shane Ross and the other members of the Independent Alliance that government would work on granny-flat grant proposals pic.twitter.com/D4baY4e80j
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) October 9, 2018
Donohoe confirmed that yesterday evening a further meeting with the Independent Alliance was held and he agreed to work with the housing minister over the coming year on a project to convert homes held by older people so as to provide more accommodation.
“It’s a sensible idea,” said Donohoe, who added that it is often the case that the design and implementation of such schemes can take time.
He added that sometimes it is not “appropriate” to announce such measures on Budget day, but said it is something the “government is willing to work on”.
The news of a late-night agreement for the grant caused laughter in the Dáil this afternoon when Labour’s Alan Kelly said he had a “funny feeling” the one home in the Abhaile scheme will be in the Dublin-Rathdown constituency.
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Ross lives on a different planet fron the rest of us!
@Anne O’Hara: sure is
Ross is a first class nobhead
Is it just granny grants or will it extend to grandas as well, asking for a friend.
@ianglen:
Please change your profile picture….. I keep trying to wipe the hair off my screen! ;)
I agree with Shane. There’s no reason we can’t convert all our stables and summerhouses into granny-flats. I don’t have a granny myself but I suppose I could rent one.
@Irving Chubbie: You can rent me any time….if the price is right
@Irving Chubbie: you can rent me any time you want…..if the price is right!!!
@Sally Kavourmas:
Are you willing to do a bit of light gardening and feed the peacocks? Also, my croquet lawn needs rolling from time to time.
@Irving Chubbie:
I’d do it myself but I’m usually too busy flogging the servants and sexually molesting the local villagers.
I’m ready for the election now..
200+ Billion foregone every year in allowable deductions and designed tax loop holes for big business according to the controller & auditor General.
Leaving 65 Billion to pay for everything..
No need for all the hardship.
It’s about choices.
Send him out to pasture.
Some of Shane Ross’s idea come from a different planet. However this is one of his better ones.
Facilitating an older person to stay in their homes and helping the homeless problem in one move is brilliant.
The problem is, where will they get the conversion money from. It won’t be cheap and there are regulations to adhere to. Red tape.
New politics in action… The independent alliance are the worst kind of parish pump politics.
I like Ross in opposition but all his sensible notions have completely evaporated
pull the plug now
Ross, the Tosser ! U
1.7 million to build 5 houses in Thurles
2 good ones in that photo..
I thought Ross had moved to North Korea to sort out their problems because everything in his department here was running so smoothly he was bored? No?m
FFG were laughing today when they mentioned him a few times..actually felt bad for him
So am I getting this right. He wants the state to pay for home renovation, the the home owner will then be able to rent out the flat and make money off it. They could also rent it out on the HAP and get more money from the state. That’s a great idea
So you want to turn your house into 2 apartments, your son/daughter can live upstairs, you downstairs. Great idea, the taxpayer will give you €50,000.
Shame Ross what an idiot honestly .. he’s a waste of government funds and taxes .. as transport minister he said when he was looking for a new car he wouldn’t buy an electric one !! What an idiot how much foresight or how little I should say he has … an absolute tossed
Very accurate
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