Chairman of the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District of Cork County Council Cllr. John Paul O’ Shea (Ind) this week urged the North Cork community to avail of the Housing Adaptation Scheme within Cork County Council.
The Housing Adaptation Grants Scheme assists older people, people with mobility problems and people with a disability to make the necessary adaptations to their homes so they can continue to live independently in their own community.
Cork County Council was allocated €3.9m scheme earlier this year from the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government and the council contributed a further €1m from its own finances bringing a total of €4.9m available to the people of the county to assist people adapt their homes in 2014.
The Housing Adaptation Grants Scheme has three elements which are as follows:
• Housing Adaptation Grant: Assists older people and people with a disability to adapt their home as to accommodate their needs. This could be in the form of reconfiguring a downstair room into a bathroom/bedroom or a new extension.
• Mobility Aids Housing Grant: Assists with adaptations to address mobility problems such as hand rails, access ramps, shower access, smoke alarms and stair lifts.
• Housing Aid for Older People: Provides improved conditions for the older person (Over 66 years) by means of structural repairs or improvements, rewiring, drylining, replacement of windows and doors and installation of central heating.
Cllr. O’ Shea said “while the criteria for eligibility for the scheme has been changed significantly by the government this year and has made it much more complex for older people to apply, I want to encourage older people and people with disabilities throughout North Cork to apply for these grants as there is monies available for them. I along with the staff in the Housing Grants section of Cork County Council will do whatever we can to assist in ensuring their applications are dealt with as quickly as possible. Assisting older people, people with mobility problems and people with disabilities to continue to live in their own homes and communities has been one of my top priorities as a public representative. It is crucial that the most in need of this important scheme can avail of the appropriate adaptations as quickly as possible”.
Funding of up to €30,000 is available for improvement works and extensions to facilitate a person with a disability under the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability. Mobility Aids Grants are available to fast track improvements worth up to €6,000 to address the person’s mobility problems and in the case of older people, a grant of up to €8,000 is available to assist householders to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out to their homes.
Cllr. O’ Shea added ”There has been a significant volume of activity under this grant scheme in recent years with an ever increasing demand for adaptations. As we are now approaching the end of 2014, I want to ensure the people of North Cork avail of these grants before the end of the year ensuring as many older people, people with mobility problems and people with a disability get their necessary adaptations and can remain living independently in their own homes and communities”.
Forms for the three schemes in the Housing Adaptation Scheme are available on www.corkcoco.ie or by contacting Cork County Council on 022 21123.
