Housing adaptation grants for older people and those with a disability to increase

Council has already paid over over €1.8M in grants so far this year

The level of housing adaptation grants for older people and those with a disability are set to increase by almost a third; while income thresholds to qualify for support under the scheme will also be raised by 25%.

The changes to the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme were announced by the Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien; the Minister of State for Local Government, Alan Dillon and the Minister of State for Heritage, Malcolm Noonan, last week.

It follows a review of the scheme, which suggested the changes. The report also recommends adjusting the burden sharing for local authorities by reducing the council's funding contribution to 15% (from the existing 20%) together with a number of amendments to the means test.

So far this year, Cavan County Council has paid out in respect of 191 housing adaptation grants. The total works funded comes to €1,804,396 - 20% of which was contributed by the local authority (€360,879).Already it’s a significant increase on the levels of grant aid awarded in 2023. Last year, the council paid out on 187 grant applications, with works totalling €1,739,019 - €347,804 of which was covered from council coffers.

The average grants awarded per application this year are:

Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability - €13,894

Mobility Aid Grant - €5,060

Housing Aid for Older People - €6,259

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing will now proceed to implement the review recommendations with the aim of introducing a revised scheme in early 2025.

Commenting, Minister O’Brien said the changes will have "a real and positive impact on the lives of older and disabled people".

He claimed that, since the current Government took office, the level of grants awarded under the scheme have increased by over 27% from €73M in 2020 to more than €93M in 2024.

"This review, the first in more than a decade, will ensure that even more people are eligible to apply.

These grants are a lifeline for many families and individuals – meaning they can live independently, in the comfort of their own communities, for as long as possible.”

Housing Adaptation Grants assist with the necessary modifications, repairs or improvement works in order to make the accommodation more suitable to the needs of older and disabled people supporting them to live in their homes. The scheme includes three distinct grants - namely the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant.

Nationally, over 13,000 grants were paid in 2023. Once the changes are implemented, grants of between €6,000 and €40,000 will be available for adaptation works for properties older than 12 months. Households with an annual income of €37,500 will qualify for 100% of the maximum grant available with various levels of grants available for households earning up to €75,000 a year.

Local Fianna Fáil TD, Brendan Smith, has welcomed the changes to the scheme.

“Having called for an increase to both the grant limits and the thresholds for some time now I am delighted to see that Minister O'Brien has received Cabinet approval to do just that. Grant limits will increase by €10,000 in some circumstances, which will be welcome news to many."

Deputy Smith is also pleased with the proposed changes to means testing arrangements, meaning more people will qualify for the grants.

“Just the owner/tenant and their spouse will be assessed and a person’s income ‘in year’ can be taken account of in certain circumstances. These grants are a lifeline for many families and individuals," he continued.

Projections from the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) indicate that the numbers of people aged over 65 years will more than double to 1.3 million people by 2040.

"As more people live longer lives, they will want to stay healthy and independent, live in their own homes and communities and keep to a minimum their use of in-patient and out-patient hospital services," said Deputy Smith.

"It’s appropriate now that we make the grants easier to access and to support as many people as possible to age with dignity in their homes,” he concluded.