THE CASE OF a woman who recently had her leg amputated being told she will have to wait until January 2024 to apply for a housing adaptation grant, despite having already been discharged from hospital, is under review, an Oireachtas Committee was recently told.
The Journal understands that Louth County Council as well as three other local authorities have asked for additional Exchequer funding this year. Munster said there were 610 applicants on the Louth waiting list alone – one being a woman in her 50s who had a leg amputated recently and was discharged from hospital.
Acting Assistant Secretary to the Housing Department Caroline Timmons responded to concerns at the PAC, stating the case was brought to their attention in recent weeks and she had asked the unit “to look into what has happened”.She said to her knowledge, the full allocation of funding for housing adaptation grants was not drawn down by Louth County Council last year.
In 2023, Louth County Council received an allocation of over €2.3 million which is comprised of over €1.86 million Exchequer funding and over €0.46 million to be funded from the local authority’s own resources, it added. It is understood that a review has been carried out by the department into the housing adaptation scheme as to whether additional funding is required given the rise in the cost of construction in recent months.