Council urged to increase house adaption grants for people with disabilities

A CALL to the Minister for Housing to increase the rate of maximum grants for the adaptation of houses for people with disabilities was made at a meeting of Meath County Council by Sinn Fein Cllr Helen Meyer.

Her notice of motion read: “That Meath County Council write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to request that he increase the maximum grant payable for homes older than 12 months under the Housing Adaptation Grant for people with disabilities from €30,000 to €40,000 and to increase the central funding of €83 million for Housing Adaptation Grants for people with a disability to €150 million in 2024”.

Cllr Meyer said the grant needed to be increased because of the year-by-year increase in construction costs.

Fine Gael Cllr Sarah Reilly said the scheme was a “fantastic” one and commended the staff involved in carrying out the adaptations. “For me, that’s where the increase needs to go”. Under present arrangements, if a family had a child with special needs, the family was precluded from getting a grant if the income in the house was above €50,000. That same family might have added costs in terms of speech therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy. “Fifty thousands does not go far enough”, she said.

Independent Cllr Nick Killian said he was supporting Cllr Meyer’s notice of motion. “I know it’s hard to get money for everything but this grant needs to be adjusted.”

The motion was agreed by the council.