Waterford woman 'died waiting' on grant from Council

Serious concerns have been raised around the flaws of the housing adaptation grants scheme for elderly and disabled people trying to make their living conditions more appropriate for their needs. 

The Waterford News & Star previously reported these concerns. They have again been brought to our attention again at the most recent Plenary Council meeting as Cllr Joeanne Bailey spoke of how devastated she was to hear of how an elderly Waterford woman, who had been on the waiting list for two years, had recently passed away with none of the necessary adaptations made to her home. 

"Older people and people with disabilities are waiting a very long time for all aspects of the scheme, but there is a longer wait if you are a council tenant and you need works to be done to your house," explained Cllr Bailey. 

She referred to a local elderly lady who was approved for an extension but due to the national issues around the procurement of contractors, the family contacted Cllr Bailey last week to say she would no longer need the grant. 

"I got a phone call last week to say that lady died waiting," she continued, "this is absolutely disgraceful."

Cllr Bailey requested to see the breakdown of wait times for both private and council applicants in Waterford, along with an additional funding request from the department. 

In the Council's response it was agreed that "there is a difference" between the waiting periods of private adaptation grant applicants and the Council's tenants who also apply. 

"We have flagged it as an Executive at national level. It is a funding issue," continued the response from the Executive. 

"I can certainly bring to this Council what those wait times are, but it is up to 18 months for adaption to our own stock. That's the reality, I suppose, of the funding that we have available to us," the response concluded. 

As previously reported by the Waterford News & Star, on Thursday, May 30, individual allocations to local authorities of the overall €93 million fund for the housing adaptation scheme was announced, with €2,437,406 in total for Waterford Council. Despite this funding, Cllr Frank Quinlan previously raised another flaw in the scheme, whereby those who do have contractors available to carry out the work for them are left in circumstances where they may not be reimbursed within a reasonable timeframe, leaving two already vulnerable cohorts of society financially worse off than before.