Finneran Announces Housing Funding Of Over 79.5 Million Euro For Older People

Michael Finneran, T.D., Minister for Housing and Local Services, last week announced that his Department has allocated €79.56 million for the funding of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability in private houses for 2009. 

Announcing the allocations, the Minister said, "I am delighted to be able to announce this level of funding for the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability. 

"These Schemes are vitally important in assisting older people and people with a disability to continue to live in their own homes and communities with the dignity that they deserve."

The Minister continued, "I was also very encouraged by the high level of activity under these grant schemes in 2008, and that the increases in funding I made available ensured that record numbers of applicants under these grant schemes availed of grant assistance."

Local authorities paid 12,094 individual grants to private houses under the schemes in 2008 and carried out works of adaptation to 1,323 local authority rented dwellings, a total of some 13,417 houses adapted.

In addition, funding of €3.5 million has been made available under the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme in 2009. 

According to the Minister, this should enable the Health Service Executive to process the small volume of outstanding applications under this scheme.

Expenditure under the Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability and the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme, during the lifetime of this Government, from 1997 to 2008, has totalled almost €652 million with more than 120,000 grants paid.

"This represents over 120,000 older people or people with a disability who this Government have assisted in remaining in their own homes and in their own communities" the Minister concluded.