I have helped secure an additional €165,000 funding for Clare County Council to both improve local authority housing for disabled persons and to also provide better energy efficiency in local authority housing.

Minister Paudie Coffey has confirmed that over €165,000 extra will be given to Clare County Council, under the Energy Efficiency Programme and Disabled Persons Grants to help improve council houses.

Under the 2015 Energy Efficiency Programme and Disabled Persons Grants scheme, Clare County Council has received over €800,000 to help improve council housing this year.

The funding will be used across a range of housing schemes to improve housing for people with disabilities, as well as retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency.

It came to my attention that additional funding was available and I have been liaising directly with Clare County Council on this in recent weeks.

I am pleased to confirm that an additional €165,208 will now be made available to go towards the Energy Efficiency Programme and the Disabled Persons Grants.

It is my understanding that this is the full amount Clare County Council applied for in their application for additional funding.

I want to thank Minister Paudie Coffey, whom I have worked closely with on this issue and welcome the fact that the total amount given to Clare County Council this year under these schemes will now reach €1 million.