Housing adaptation grants

Monaghan County Council’s suite of Housing Adaptation Grants will have to remain closed for applications until early next year, Director of Housing Services Olga McConnon informed the April meeting of the local authority.

The means-tested grants are administered by local authorities to assist older and disabled people to carry out medically necessary home modifications.

Responding to Cllr Pat Treanor (SF), who asked when the grants will reopen for applications, Ms McConnon said the Council had received €4.5M in funding for the grants this year in addition to their own resources, but they have been inundated with applications and all the funding is committed. The grants will be closed until early 2027 except in cases of urgent medical need.

Cllr Treanor said it is totally unacceptable that a stop has been put to the grants. He was aware of a person in need of palliative care who had their application form sent back to them, and he believed this raises serious credibility issues for the Council.

“We are sitting at the April meeting and the allocation for the year has already been spent,” he observed.

The Director of Services said the case cited by Cllr Treanor sounded like a medical priority application and she asked the councillor to furnish her with full details. All the money received for the grants last year and this year has now been allocated and they had to draw a line in order to catch up.

Cllr Treanor proposed that the Council make an application for additional funding.

Cathaoirleach P.J. O’Hanlon (FF) said the Council had received increased allocations over recent years but he agreed the current situation needed to be looked at and “chased up”.

Cllr Treanor’s proposal that a further allocation be sought from the Department to reopen the grant schemes was seconded by Cllr Bronagh McAree (SF) and agreed unanimously.