Housing grants in crisis
Non-urgent housing grant applications will not be accepted or funded until 2026, a meeting of Westmeath County Council has heard.
The council’s 2025 allocation of €2.4 million, of which 85% is funded nationally and 15% locally, is nearly exhausted. Director of Housing Jackie Maguire revealed that €2.1 million has already been committed, with just under €1 million actually paid out. A top-up of €941,000 has been requested from the Department, but no confirmation has yet been received.
Councillors expressed concerns around “Priority 3” applications, typically involving non-urgent, but necessary home adaptations. These have now been officially closed.
“Any Priority 3 applications we do receive, we'll be writing to them to let them know it won’t be considered until 2026,” said Ms Maguire.
This led to sharp criticism, with Cllr Frankie Keena calling for immediate communication: “Not everyone comes through a local rep. People are downloading the forms online and sending them in. We need a press release to make this clear,” he said.
Others questioned whether any new applications should be accepted at all, with Cllr Tom Farrell arguing, “if there’s no money, should we be taking any more applications? All that’s going to end up is a pure mess.”
Ms Maguire advised councillors to “temper expectations” with constituents, acknowledging that even approved Priority 2 applicants may not see works begin until 2026.
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