Councils draw down 30% of home grants

SEVEN LOCAL authorities drew down less than 30 per cent of the funds allocated to them for home adaptation grants by the end of September, figures released by the Department of the Environment show.

And 22 authorities drew down less than 50 per cent.

The means-tested grants are designed to help older people and people with disabilities carry out work to their homes such as making them wheelchair-accessible, adding downstairs bathrooms or fitting stair-lifts. They are often vital in ensuring a person can remain at home or return home after hospitalisation.

Up to the end of September, Kildare County Council had drawn down only 6 per cent of its €3 million allocation and Kerry County Council had drawn down 16 per cent of €3.2 million. Some 20 per cent of the €1.5 million grant allocated to Kilkenny County Council had been collected from the department.

Mayo, Louth and Dún Laoghaire County Councils and Galway City Council all had drawn down less than 30 per cent of their allotted funds by September 30th.

Almost €100 million was allocated to the scheme in March, but less than €45 million has been drawn down so far. If the local authorities do not use their funding by the end of the year it will be lost to them.

The Department of the Environment has taken some funds from unnamed local authorities and redistributed them to councils in Meath, Waterford and Limerick.

A spokesman for the department said they were “quite satisfied” the €100 million would be spent by the end of the year, but not necessarily in the local authority area to which it was initially allocated. Traditionally there had always been more draw-downs toward the end of the year, he said.

A spokesman for Kildare County Council said since September 30th, the council had claimed a third of its allocation. It had also approved almost 450 applications.