Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2026
104. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide additional funding to Sligo County Council to enable the housing adaptation grant scheme to reopen to priority 2 and priority 3 applications, which have been paused for a number of months. [68949/26]
View answerMy Department provides funding under the suite of housing adaptation grant for older people and disabled people to assist those in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the housing adaptation grant for disabled people, the mobility aids grant and the housing aid for older people grant, is funded by my Department with a contribution from the local authority. The detailed administration of the scheme, including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment, is the responsibility of local authorities.
The Exchequer funding available for these grants in 2026 increased substantially by €30 million to €129.5 million, or over €152 million when accounting for the local authority contribution of 15%, continuing the year-on-year increases since 2014. During 2025, my Department approved two requests for additional funding, totalling €453,670, from Sligo County Council and over €2.14 million was drawn down by the council in 2025. Sligo County Council received an allocation of over €2.3 million in Exchequer funding for 2026, an increase of 30% on the original allocation in 2025. The county council submitted a request for additional funding of €500,000 earlier this year and this was approved in full. No further requests have been submitted. The council has confirmed to my Department that no further funding will be sought for the remainder of the year.
We want to encourage local authorities to seek additional funding. It is something the Deputy might take up with Sligo County Council. If it wishes, it can apply for additional funding. That is the update I have from the officials in my Department. I have met all of the officials in the local authorities who deal with housing adaptation grants to encourage them to seek additional funding if they require it.
My Department works closely with 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 that have high levels of grant activity. My Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year. It is actively engaging with local authorities to facilitate the redistribution of any such savings identified as early as possible.
I thank the Minister of State. I have raised this issue a number of times. The position in Sligo is critical. Sligo County Council received €2.3 million in Exchequer funding for 2026, an increase of 30%, and I want to recognise that. In fairness, it was very much needed. Priority 2 housing adaptation grant applications, however, remain paused and new applications are being returned. The council has, I am told, sought additional funding, but the Minister of State said it has not. I fully accept that the most urgent, priority 1 cases must come first. However, we cannot have a situation whereby funding is sufficient only to deal with priority 1 cases when many of those in the priority 2 category also have substantial needs and are unable to apply.
Earlier this year, a total of 89 priority 2 applicants had been on hold since 2025, representing an estimated cost of €859,000. These grants make an enormous difference. They enable older people and those with a disability to remain safely in their homes, maintain their independence and, in many cases, avoid the need for more costly hospital or long-term residential care. I ask the Department to urgently approve Sligo County Council’s request, which it has not put in, for an increased Exchequer capital allocation, including additional funding to reopen the scheme to priority 2 applicants.
It must be acknowledged that Sligo County Council did apply for additional funding of €500,000, which it received. Obviously, the Deputy will be making contact with Sligo County Council, and I encourage the council to make an application for additional funding, if it is required. I will also ask my officials in the Department to reach out to Sligo County Council to find out what the position is. Where local authorities wish to provide additional funding and where there is a need, we want to ensure we can redistribute funding to them. We will address this issue on both fronts - Deputy Scanlon will be in contact with Sligo County Council and I will also ask my officials to reach out to Sligo County Council in this regard. As of now, my understanding from officials is that no additional application has been received from Sligo County Council on top the €500,000 it applied for and received earlier this year.
It is important that we help these people before their circumstances deteriorate to the point where they become a priority 1 case. The whole purpose of the housing adaptation grant is to intervene before someone reaches crisis point, not afterwards. Priority 1 cases must always come first, but being a priority 2 case cannot mean having no priority at all. There is a human cost to delaying these adaptations, as well as a cost to the State, because people lose their independence and require greater levels of health or residential care. That defeats the whole purpose of the scheme.
I know the Deputy has raised this issue and advocated for it before. On practical measures, as he mentioned, initial funding to Sligo County Council increased by 30% this year to €2.3 million. It received a further €500,000 in additional funding that it requested earlier in the year, bringing total funding to €2.8 million. I ask the Deputy to inform Sligo County Council that if it has an additional request, it should be made to the Department. In a practical way, I will ask my officials to reach out to Sligo County Council in this regard to determine the exact position. The money is available. Housing adaptation grants, as the Deputy stated, make a huge difference, particularly to the daily lives of older people. The Government, the Minister, the Department and I are keen to promote them.
