€1.59m Housing Adaptation Grant funding for Westmeath

Almost €1.6m in funding for Housing Adaptation Grants for older and disabled people in Westmeath has been allocated for 2023.

The funding will help facilitate older people and disabled people to live independently in their own homes.

Of the 2023 funding allocation of €1.59m for Westmeath, the Exchequer will provide €1.27m. Westmeath County Council will provide the remaining €319,200.

Nationally, €83.125m has been allocated for the grants, to benefit 12,300 people, a 2.3% increase on the 2022 initial allocation.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, said: "This allocation will build on the success of last year where we exceeded the number of home adaptations initially targeted nationally. We want to empower and enable people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible – these grants help us to do just that. They also provide a boost to the economy in Westmeath, creating employment opportunities for local contractors."

Minister of State for Local Government and Planning Kieran O’Donnell added: "I am pleased that funding for our local authorities to administer Housing Adaptation Grants has been increasing year-on-year since 2014. These grants have a huge bearing on the home life of their many beneficiaries and play a critical role in helping disabled people and those reaching an age when they are less mobile, to continue to live independently in their own homes.

"As minister of state with responsibility for housing for older people and disabled people, I am fully committed to supporting individuals in Westmeath to continue living independently at home and within their own communities. This funding will facilitate that goal."

Grants of up to €30,000 are available to assist disabled people in carrying out necessary works to make a house more suitable for their needs. Additionally, grants of up to €8,000 are available to assist older people to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out on their homes. Grants of up to €6,000 are available for mobility aids.

Deputy Robert Troy said: "This fovernment funding of €1.596 million for Housing Adaptation Grants in Westmeath will help more older people and people with disabilities live in their own homes for longer. That’s what everyone wants. That’s why Fianna Fáil is committed to this initiative. I’ve seen first-hand over the years how this specific funding has been critical in facilitating local people live independently."

The funding announcement was welcomed by Minister Peter Burke. "I know from my many dealings with constituents on numerous grant applications that this is welcome news and allows applications to progress which will make real differences to people’s lives. This grant application has real impact on older people and people with disabilities allowing them to live more independently in their own homes while carrying out essential works to make their homes more suitable.

"Empowering and enabling people to live as independently as possible in their own homes is at the heart of this – enhancing their lives and improving their quality of life. An added benefit to this grant scheme is that it will also boost the local economy, creating employment opportunities for local contractors. The ripple effect of this increased funding package will be wide-reaching. I commend the staff in Westmeath County Council who administer the schemes," said Minister Burke.

Grants must keep in line with costs – Guirke

Sinn Féin TD for Meath West Johnny Guirke has called on the government to increase funding for adaptation grants. Speaking in the Dáil, he said: "On Monday May 1, the government announced its funding allocation for local authorities towards adaptation grants for older people and people with disabilities which saw an increase of 2.3%. Unfortunately, construction costs have risen by 30%, so this figure will see more applications from people sitting on desks.

"We are now into the fifth month of the calendar year, and this government is only releasing funding now, this is not acceptable for those waiting on work to their homes. It’s a disgrace to read in a paper that 32.5% of the housing budget hasn’t been spent in the first four months of the year – how can it be spent if you aren’t allocating the money for the grants.

I’ve spoken with the local authorities in Meath and Westmeath for constituents who are waiting a long time for works to be done following grant approvals, but they don’t have the funding available through this government.

"An elderly woman who needs urgent work and was approved for it has to lift her 30-year-old disabled daughter in and out of the bath – that is a disgrace.

"There seems to be no urgency with this government to do with housing, we see time and time again, people with disabilities and older people must fight for everything, and worse still we hear that this folder sat on someone’s desk for two months.

"Why are these grants not approved in January or February like previous years, which would give local authorities 12 months instead of eight months to approve grants and get work done. The gap between construction costs and funding is too big, and something needs to be done to help older people and people with disabilities," he said.