My Department provides funding under the suite of 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. The grants are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of these schemes including staffing, assessment, approval and prioritisation, is the responsibility of local authorities.
My Department advises local authorities annually that, as far as practicable, a percentage of the allocation under the schemes should be ring fenced in respect of any emergency applications which might arise under these schemes during the course of the year. Therefore all local authorities manage their schemes to ensure access to the grants programme is maintained to the extent possible throughout the year in the highest priority cases and further information in this regard would be available directly from the local authorities
My Department works closely with the local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of available funding. This means that any underspends that arise on the part of any local authority can be redistributed to other authorities which have high levels of grant activity and my Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year. My Department encourages all local authorities to ensure all applications on hand are processed to the degree possible for final payment to ensure optimal spend on their annual allocation. Where additional Exchequer funding becomes available, the Council must provide the 20% match funding from their own resources therefore the Council is also managing the scheme within the resources allocated at the local level.
On the 26 September 2024, Minister O'Brien and I published the Report on the Review of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. Amongst the recommendations included in the Report are a proposed increase in the grant limits by over 30% and the income thresholds by 25% as well as number of other measures in relation to the means test.
The Report on the Review of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability is available on my Department’s website at the following link:
gov.ie - Ministers O’Brien and Dillon announce reforms following review of the Housing Adaptation Grants (www.gov.ie)
My Department will now proceed to implement the review recommendations through bringing forward a statutory instrument, as urgently as possible, for my consideration and signature and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform with the aim of introducing a revised scheme in Quarter 1 of 2025.
My Department also provides funding to local authorities under the Disabled Persons Grants scheme to carry out works on social housing stock to address the needs of older people, people with a disability or overcrowded situations. The detailed administration of this scheme including assessment, approval and prioritisation of applications is also the responsibility of local authorities.
