Over half a million disability funding
LOUTH HAS RECEIVED €504,428 ONE OF LARGEST ALLOCATIONS
OVER half a million euro in funding has been secured for the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme in County Louth, it has been revealed.
An allocation of €504,428 has been secured for the scheme, one of the largest allocations in the country.
€504,428 funding secured for Disabled Persons Grant Scheme in Louth
Deputy Fergus O’Dowd, TD for Louth and East Meath, has welcomed the final allocation as it is one of the largest allocations in the country, however he feels much more funding is needed for disability adaptation grants for people in County Louth.
‘ This final allocation is one of the largest in the country aside from the large cities, the objective now is to secure further funding in this area in regard to applicants who own their homes.
‘I’m expecting that we will see further announcements in the coming weeks to further the funding already announced for this area,’ he said.
The Disabled Persons Grant Scheme provides funding for extensions and adaptations to existing social housing stock such as grab rails, disabled access ramps, wet rooms, etc. The scheme also provides extensions in cases of overcrowding.
In addition, the scheme provides funding for Improvement Works in Lieu in order to improve or extend privately owned accommodation where the occupant is already approved for social housing, reducing the strain on current social housing stock.
‘Some €453,985 will be paid by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, with an additional €50,443 coming from our Local Authority.
‘ This is certainly welcome but much more funding is needed to clear the backlog of priority applicants.
‘I am very pleased my Fine Gael colleague Minister Eoghan Murphy has allocated funding of a total of €12million nationally under this scheme.
‘ The Minister has assured me he will continue to keep the scheme under review and will consider providing further funding later in the year if the need arises.’