Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)

I have been recently notified by Cavan County Council that it is pausing the private housing grant applications for the moment due to high demand. This refers to the housing adaptation grant, the mobility aids grant and the housing aid for older people grant. These grants are vital to make changes or improvements to homes to accommodate changing needs which may occur due to ageing and mobility issues as a result of ageing, accident or illness. It also makes it possible for older houses to continue to be liveable in respect of electrics, windows and doors, a leaky roof or so forth. These grants make it possible for people to continue living in their own homes and frequently make changes that allow life to be easier and accidents less likely to happen.

The county council is pausing applications with immediate effect so it can prioritise those with most need. At the moment, it is going forward by prioritising those with priority 1 status, those who require adaptions to allow them to leave hospital or a residential setting, or those who are terminally ill or dependent on a carer or family. However, even that aspect is funding-dependent. The county council hopes it is only a temporary measure but that is dependent on accessing increased funding.

It is quite early in the year to pause the grants. Last year, the council spent €2.2 million, but this year its allocation was only €1.8 million, which is still a considerable amount but it is not as much as it received last year. Last year, it received a top-up. It got €1.3 million last year but then received a top-up to bring it up to €2.2 million. The council told me that last year it approved 239 grants and this year, so far, 293 grants have been approved.

A little bit of it is a throwback to Covid because grants were being passed at the time and then construction could not be carried out because of restrictions, or the construction workers were not there to do the work. That, thankfully, has changed. The work is being done and the money needs to be paid out. Perhaps in a year or two, there will not be as much demand. We have to recognise as well that the grant system opened up the eligibility criteria, increasing it, and the thresholds increased, which means it has consequences. We also have an ageing population, which also has consequences. There will be need for increased funding for these grants as well as the council’s aspect that it spends an increased amount.

Is there a possibility a top-up will be given to Cavan County Council in order for it to ensure it can honour the grants it has approved and it continues to honour the priority 1 grants and, it is hoped, some of the others? I will give an example. One woman, who is 81 years of age, hoped to have the bath taken out of her house and get a level access shower. She applied for the grant last year but, unfortunately, her application seems to have gone missing. I had to sit down with her and do the application again and get all the information in, only to find the grants are being paused. For her, it means that if she slips in that bath, which is what she is terrified of, she could end up breaking a hip, needing hospitalisation or needing residential care. If, however, the level access shower can be provided now, that could prevent a very serious accident happening. I have other examples of people who are looking to replace windows and doors and were hoping to get it done before the winter, but now that is not a possibility. People who may have dangerous electrics in their home need to have them replaced, and that is not a possibility. A lot of work that could be carried out now could prevent more work being needed down the line if accidents occur or if the home deteriorates.