Almost €2 million has been allocated for adapting and extending the homes of people with a disability or mobility issues in Galway city and county.
The Department of Housing has today approved a total of €23 million for the Disabled Persons Grant scheme and Improvement Works In Lieu of social housing scheme (IWILs).
Galway County will see a total of €1,066,666 spent on adapting 82 homes and extending six others.
Another €841,838 will be used to adapt 40 homes and extend seven homes in Galway City.
The DPG scheme provides funding for adapting existing social housing stock to make them more suitable for people with a disability or mobility issues.
This could include improvements such as grab rails, disabled access ramps, wet rooms, downstairs bedrooms etc. The scheme also provides extensions in cases of overcrowding.
The Improvement Works in Lieu of social housing scheme (IWILs) allows local authorities to improve or extend privately owned accommodation, where the applicant has been approved for social housing.
It allows those who are otherwise eligible for social housing to remain in private housing and for enhancements to that housing.
Under both schemes, exchequer funding meets 90% of the cost of the works, with the Local Authority providing the remaining 10%.
Neither the city nor county council in Galway applied for any funding under the IWIL scheme this year.
Galway Senator Aisling Dolan welcomed the announcement, saying that these funds will provide “more accessibility for people with a disability or older people who need mobility aids.”
Minister of State for Planning and Local Government Peter Burke said that he was glad to increase the budget for these scheme and give more funding to local authorities in 2021.
“This investment in our social housing stock will improve housing conditions for people with a disability and our older tenants.”
