Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We did make contact with your office.

I want to raise the alarming issue of Louth local authorities being forced to close to applications for housing adaptation grants, housing aid for older people grants and mobility aid grants due to a lack of Government funding. Shamefully, there are currently 600 people on the waiting list, many of whom have been waiting for years. There will be more vulnerable people applying in the coming months but the door will have effectively been closed in their faces. I am sure the Minister will agree that this does not make financial sense in the long term because it will cost the State more if people are forced into respite or long-term care.

Before anything is said about funding, I want to let the Minister know that Louth local authorities have drawn down all and any funding that is available. They are now forced into a situation whereby they are closed to applications for grants for the most vulnerable in society. These are people who want to live at home but who need their homes adapted. Given there are already 600 people on the waiting list in Louth and the authorities are closed to new applications from some of the most vulnerable people, will the Government consider giving additional and adequate funding to the local authorities to allow them to accept new applications and to deal with the 600 vulnerable people currently waiting for home adaptations?

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