THE CASE OF a woman who recently had her leg amputated being told she will have to wait until January 2024 to apply for a housing adaptation grant, despite having already been discharged from hospital, is under review, an Oireachtas Committee was recently told. 

Sinn Féin’s Imelda Munster raised the case the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week, whereby she claimed Louth County Council grant scheme was now closed to new applicants. 

Her comments come amidst concerns that the scheme is underfunded, given the rise in the inflation and construction costs.

The Journal understands that Louth County Council as well as three other local authorities have asked for additional Exchequer funding this year.

Munster claimed the case she raised at the committee meeting spoke to the wider issue of the housing adaptation scheme being in crisis due to underfunding. 

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage provides funding to local authorities under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs.

Munster said there were 610 applicants on the Louth waiting list alone – one being a woman in her 50s who had a leg amputated recently and was discharged from hospital.

“Her family members contacted the local authority, as such a life-altering situation requires her house to be adapted. That family, and every family since, has been told to reapply next January,” she said. 

“The Department is preventing people from getting adaptations to their homes that they desperately need. The lack of funding is preventing people from living independently in their own homes,” said Munster. 

Acting Assistant Secretary to the Housing Department Caroline Timmons responded to concerns at the PAC, stating the case was brought to their attention in recent weeks and she had asked the unit “to look into what has happened”.

She said to her knowledge, the full allocation of funding for housing adaptation grants was not drawn down by Louth County Council last year.

“We are open to that. The council applied to us in respect of the case the Deputy raised. I cannot say what will happen, as the application has to be examined, but I have asked the team to look at it,” she said. 

Munster said this was just one serious case.

“There are people who cannot get into a bath or climb stairs and are waiting on downstairs wet rooms and stairlifts but cannot get any,” she said. 

In response to a query about the case from The Journal, the Department of Housing said in 2022, Louth County Council received an allocation of almost €2.25 million and spent over €1.35 million.

In 2023, Louth County Council received an allocation of over €2.3 million which is comprised of over €1.86 million Exchequer funding and over €0.46 million to be funded from the local authority’s own resources, it added.

“Louth County Council applied recently for a further Exchequer allocation of over €570,000,” said the department spokesperson. 

The department confirmed that three other local authorities have also asked for more funding, with the spokesperson stating that it is considering these requests as a matter of priority and will make a decision as soon as possible.

It is understood that a review has been carried out by the department into the housing adaptation scheme as to whether additional funding is required given the rise in the cost of construction in recent months.

A proposal has been made to the minister, which is being progressed, following period of negotiation with the Department of Public Expenditure, it is understood. 

In 2022 12,000 grants for home adaptations were provided nationally, surpassing the initial target. €83.125 million has been allocated for 2023, a 2.3% increase, and represents a continuation of the year-on-year increases in the grant since 2014.