Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Galway Minister has criticised Galway County Council for its alleged failure to draw down any housing adaptation grant funding so far this year.
Figures released to Junior Minister and Galway East TD Anne Rabbitte, through a parliamentary question, show the County Council is the only local authority nationwide which hadn't drawn down any funds as of June 30th.
The housing adaptation grant is available from local authorities for those who need to make a home more suitable for a person with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability or a mental health difficulty.
75 million euro is being made available nationally through the scheme this year, with 20% funded by local authorities and the balance of a 80% coming from the exchequer.
Minister Rabbitte says there are residents across county Galway who have made applications and are waiting for funding to assist with home adaptation improvements.
In a statement to Galway Bay fm news, Galway County Council says it has 155 Housing Adaptation Grant applications on hand for 2021.
It adds that payments have been approved for 87 of these applications, with 372 thousand euro issued to date.
A further 68 applications are currently being assessed, with further information awaited for some of these applications.
An interim claim is to be submitted to the Department in the third quarter of this year to draw down funding based on payments issued to date, with a final claim for 2021 to be submitted in quarter four.
