LOCAL AUTHORITY home conversion grants for people with disabilities and older people are in chaos around the country as applications far exceed the funding provided by central Government.
Funding for the grants, for vital works such as wheelchair ramps and stair lifts, is at least €22 million short of what is needed by local authorities around the country.
Many local authorities have already spent or allocated much or all of their funding for 2009 and some have closed their application process.
The money available to almost all local authorities falls far short of applications on hand.
The Housing Adaptation Grant scheme, the Mobility Aid Grant scheme and the Housing Aid for Older People scheme are administered by local authorities and chiefly funded by the Department of the Environment.
They are means-tested and involve grants of up to €30,000 for work such as widening doors to take a wheelchair, building access ramps and downstairs toilet facilities.
Minor works such as the installation of level access showers and grab rails are also covered, as well as structural repairs, such as rewiring and the replacement of windows in the homes of older people.
Every year, local authorities run out of money for the schemes and either put applicants on waiting lists or refuse to accept further applications.
In May, the Department of the Environment announced almost €80 million in funding for the schemes, but councils must make up a quarter of that from their own funds.
And they can also only recoup the money from the department after they have spent it. As a result, many local authorities, already on reduced budgets, are struggling to administer the schemes. The knock-on effect of delays means many older people and people with disabilities could be held unnecessarily in hospitals and residential care while their families wait for approval to carry out the essential works.
Of 22 local authorities who responded to questions from The Irish Times, only four had more funding than applications on hand.
Longford County Council had applications of €2 million, almost three times the value of its grant of €727,500. The value of waiting lists for both Sligo and Wicklow county councils were two and a half times their allocations.
Dublin City Council, which closed its list, had a grant of €14.4 million and applications of €23 million. Waterford, Wicklow and Leitrim county councils and Limerick City Council had all also closed their lists to new applicants, although some were considering emergency cases.
Limerick City Council has suspended applications and approvals until 2010. It had funding of €1.6 million and applications on hand of €2.9 million, and had already paid out more than €700,000.
Leitrim County Council was closed to applications with the exception of medical emergencies. It was allocated almost €1.8 million and had applications on hand worth €3.4 million.
Cork City Council was allocated €2.1 million in May. It had almost 500 applications on hand valued at almost €4 million and had also paid out nearly half a million euro.
Fingal County Council had applications worth almost €2.9 million and funding of almost €1.8 million.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had €3.2 million in applications, including more than €850,000 already paid out this year and it received funding of €2.16 million. It has reserving grants for “Priority 1” applicants.
South Dublin County Council was allocated €4.54 million, had grants of €4.75 million on hand and had paid out €2.56 million.
Waterford County Council said it was closed to all applications, but would take medical emergencies “as long as the funds hold out”. It had already paid out €370,000, had applications worth €2.7 million on hand and was allocated €1.7 million.
Wicklow County Council had not accepted any grant applications since August 2008 and said it was unlikely to accept any this year. It had applications on hand of €3 million and was allocated €1.23 million in May.
Offaly County Council had applications on hand of more than €2.4 million, paid out just under €400,000 and its funding was just under €1.5 million.
Kerry County Council was allocated €2.95 million. It had either paid or approved grants worth €.3.1 million and had 385 unapproved applications on hand that had not yet been valued.
It said due to financial constraints only a small number of the unapproved applications would be approved this year.
Kildare County Council could not provide figures on the status of its grants, but said it was advising applicants that no further grants would be approved in 2009 due to funding restrictions.
Only Monaghan County Council, Galway City Council, North Tipperary County Council and Westmeath County Council had more funding than applications and payments on hand.
Their situation is likely to deteriorate in the second half of the year.
