ALMOST 80mn euro has been announced so far in 2009 in funding for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability in private houses. The increase was in response to last year’s record demand for this aid and local authorities paid 12,094 individual grants to private houses under the schemes last year.
They carried out works of adaptation to 1,323 local authority rented dwellings and a total of some 13,417 houses adapted.
In addition, funding of 3.5mn euro has been made available under the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme in 2009. This should enable the Health Service Executive to process the small volume of outstanding applications under this scheme.
Announcing the allocations recently, Minister for Housing and Local Services, Michael Finneran, said, “I am delighted to be able to announce this level of funding for the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability. These schemes are vitally important in assisting older people and people with a disability to continue to live in their own homes and communities with the dignity that they deserve”.
Expenditure under the Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability and the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme, during the lifetime of this Government, from 1997 to 2008, has totalled almost 652mn euro with more than 120,000 grants paid.
This represents over 120,000 older people or people with a disability whom this Government have assisted in remaining in their own homes and in their own communities.
