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72% cut to housing adaptation grant schemes in 2 years – Naughten

Tuesday 12^th March 2013

 

Department of Environment funding for home adaptation grants for older people and for people with disabilities has been cut by 72% in County Roscommon in the last two years, Denis Naughten TD has highlighted.

 

Councils were notified of their funding last week and the figures show Roscommonhas faced a cut in funding of 72% in two years, which translates to a loss in funding of €1.8m.

 

The funding is provided annually to each Council to cover the cost of three schemes: the Mobility Aids Grant Scheme, the Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with a Disability and Housing Aid for Older Person's Grant Scheme – all of which are means-tested.

 

The disability schemes help with adapting the home of a person with a disability and fund such items as stair-lifts, extra railings, walk-in showers, downstairs toilet facilities etc. The older person's scheme provides funding for the cost of items such as leaking roofs, replacement boilers, re-wiring, and in some cases central heating.

 

"The effect of this level of funding cut will be devastating," stated Denis Naughten. "With this level of funding, Councils will have to continue the policy of freezing applications, which is causing serious hardship for individuals and their families. It is also having a direct impact on local people working in the construction sector.

 

"The frustrating thing about this cut is the fact that it could force a person to either take up a hospital bed or a bed in a nursing home which will cost between €1000/day and €1000/week. By spending a relatively small amount of money on adapting their home not only could it save money in the medium term but more significantly it would provide people with dignity and the ability to remain in their own home," concluded Denis Naughten.

 

ENDS.

 

Editor's Note: Please find attached Dáil reply on this matter.

 

Question No. 170

Chun anAireComhshaoil, PobailagusRialtaisÁitiúil:To the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government:

To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has finalised the allocations to local authorities for private housing grants for 2013; the grants schemes to be covered by these allocations; and will he provide a breakdown of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 allocations by grants scheme and by local authority..

- RóisínShortall.

For WRITTEN answer on Thursday, 7th March, 2013.Ref No: 12257/13

REPLY

Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (Ms. J. O'Sullivan)
My Department's involvement with the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of individual grants. These schemes are funded by 80% recoupments available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority.The suite of grants include three separate grant measures: the Mobility Aids Grant scheme with grants of up to €6,000, the Housing Aid for Older People scheme with grants of up to €10,500 and the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability with grants of up to €30,000, depending on household income.

The schemes are administered by the local authoritiesand it is a matter for each local authority to apportion the funding between the variousgrantmeasures. Allocations for 2013 in respect of these grant schemeswere announced on Friday 1 March 2013 and details of these, together withthe additional information sought in relation to allocations in 2011 and 2012, are set outin thefollowing table.

 

Local Authority	2011 Allocation	2012 Allocation	2013 Allocation
Carlow	€1,349,014	€1,349,014	€747,078.97
Cavan	€1,879,903	€1,625,000	€1,038,155.24
Clare	€3,000,000	€1,445,000	€1,445,000.00
Cork	€6,250,364	€6,250,364	€4,561,159.71
Donegal	€3,100,769	€2,448,146	€827,280.49
D'Laoghaire/Rathdown	€1,165,228	€1,110,602	€731,197.36
Fingal	€2,072,365	€2,072,365	€1,588,467.61
Galway	€2,387,900	€2,375,000	€1,644,386.59
Kerry	€3,459,023	€3,257,865	€1,445,971.16
Kildare	€3,563,545	€2,025,000	€2,025,000.00
Kilkenny	€1,867,500	€1,867,500	€1,406,161.86
Laois	€1,146,093	€1,084,827	€260,923.46
Leitrim	€990,189	€576,305	€65,953.25
Limerick	€1,719,225	€1,473,454	€1,473,455.00
Longford	€1,260,000	€1,243,575	€687,674.34
Louth	€1,345,716	€1,186,266	€1,103,144.70
Mayo	€2,724,401	€2,575,216	€2,575,216.25
Meath	€1,464,096	€997,208	€487,123.12
Monaghan	€1,319,083	€1,152,172	€837,210.57
North Tipperary	€1,607,181	€1,200,000	€425,757.37
Offaly	€2,059,313	€1,125,000	€625,000.00
Roscommon	€2,562,790	€1,009,251	€709,956.68
Sligo	€997,800	€997,684	€276,983.80
South Dublin	€3,084,098	€2,728,308	€1,213,986.05
South Tipperary	€3,125,000	€3,111,713	€1,087,988.81
Waterford	€1,238,324	€994,766	€414,024.05
Westmeath	€1,143,266	€988,155	€435,722.48
Wexford	€2,603,404	€2,566,772	€1,210,764.56
Wicklow	€1,151,969	€954,794	€567,117.69
Cork City	€2,707,916	€1,749,741	€1,749,741.25
Dublin City	€11,361,211	€10,629,459	€4,932,319.56
Galway City	€1,024,632	€928,352	€301,280.08
Limerick City	€1,525,000	€1,525,000	€1,010,884.61
Waterford City	€790,310	€740,282	€348,841.83
Sligo Borough Council	€418,084	€385,844	(withSligo CoCo figure for 2013)