Increase in adaptation grant limits, income thresholds are ‘lifelines’: McConalogue

The increase in the Housing Adaptation Grant limits by over 30 per cent and in the income thresholds by 25 per cent have been described as lifelines for families.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, was speaking after Darragh O’Brien, the Minister for Housing announced his intention to increase grant limits by over 30 per cent and the income thresholds by 25 per cent for those applying for support under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme.

“Fianna Fáil in Government has increased investment in these grants and now we're making it easier to access, to support as many people as we can to age with dignity in their home,” McConalogue said.

The planned proposed changes follow publication of the Report on the Review of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme which recommends amendments to the schemes.

The review recommends an increase in grant limits in excess of 30% and an increase in income thresholds of 25 per cent. The report also recommends adjusting the burden sharing for local authorities by reducing the local authority funding contribution to 15 per cent, from the existing 20 per cent, together with a number of amendments to the means test.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will now proceed to implement the recommendations through bringing forward a statutory instrument for the Minister’s consideration, with the aim of introducing a revised scheme in the first quarter of 2025.

McConalogue said: “Since this Government has taken office, we have increased the funding of these grants by over 27 per cent from €73 million in 2020 to more than €93 million in 2024. This review, the first in more than a decade and one my Fianna Fáil colleagues and I had been looking for for some time, will ensure that even more people are eligible to apply.

“These grants are a lifeline for many families and individuals – meaning they can live independently, in the comfort of their own communities, for as long as possible,” Minister McConalogue added.