COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, April 08, 2019
QUESTION NO. 20
QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
To ask the Chief Executive to confirm what efforts he is making to deal with what appears to be a back log of applications for housing adaptions in respect of disabled persons; will he note the concerns being expressed in respect of the issue and will he make a statement.
REPLY:
An average of 100 new applications for DPG works are received every year. These include applications for down stairs bathrooms, bedroom extensions, installation of wet rooms, level access showers, stairlifts, rails and ramps. In addition, a number of DPG applicants have additions made to their original application as the tenants medical condition changes.
The Dept of Housing, Planning and Local Government’s allocation to South Dublin County Council for DPGs in 2019 is €438,000 for 2019. All DPG works except small works must be tendered as per the Procurement Regulations to achieve value for money and to ensure high standards of openness, transparency and compliance. This process means that many DPG works must be advertised for tender and quotation and awarded in line with the procurement process. This can delay the process of completing applications. To alleviate the time frame involved with this process, it is intended that the Council will introduce a Framework for Contractors for DPG works, which will streamline the tender process and assist with the volume of applications on hand. Extra funding has been requested from the Department of Housing to carry out additional DPG works in 2019.
Since January 2019, the DPG section have the following works in progress / completed.
|
Small Works completed |
46 |
|
DPGs Completed |
2 |
|
DPGs in Progress |
12 |
|
DPG sent for tender |
5 |
|
Total |
65 |
The following table shows the DPG works completed for each year:
|
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 To date |
Total |
|
Level Access Showers |
55 |
26 |
0 |
81 |
|
Ramped Access |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
|
New Doors |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Stairlifts |
5 |
11 |
0 |
16 |
|
Rails |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Steps |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Downstairs Toilet |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Extensions |
3 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
|
Hoist |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Small Works |
113 |
77 |
46 |
236 |
|
Total |
184 ** |
125 |
48 |
357 |
** this increase was due to the 2017 CPG grant of €1,000,000 to carry out extra DPG works.
The following works were carried out on Council properties to make the property wheelchair accessible / semi accessible as required by the tenant under the DPG scheme.
|
|
Ramped access front |
Ramped access + front door |
Ramped Access, new front and back doors |
Ramped Access & Side Entrance Widening |
Door widening |
Extension |
Extension & Ramped Access |
New Primary Access Point |
TOTAL |
|
2014 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
|
2015 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
2016 |
11 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
18 |
|
2017 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
|
2018 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
2019 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
39 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
68 |
Private Grants Progress Report
Adaptation grants, as administered by the Council, pay grants to private applicants in respect of Housing Adaptation Grants (HAGS), Mobility Adaptation Grants(MAGS), and Housing Aid for Older People (HOPS). The Council paid out a total of 167 grants in the sum of €1,685,909 in 2018. The breakdown of grants paid out over the categories are set out below. A further 157 grants were approved in 2018.
| Scheme | no | amount |
| HAGS | 193 | 1,481,319.41 |
| MAGS | 40 | 128,244.54 |
| HOPS | 15 | 76,345.29 |
| Total | 167 | 1,685,909.24 |
2019 Progress Report
The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government allocated the 2019 budget of €2.5m in March 2019. The Council continue to prioritise, review and approve completed grants as soon as possible upon receipt of completed application submissions. Private grant applications and grants issued to the end of February 2019 are set out below:
- 21 Applications were approved to end of February
- 50 grant applications paid out to end of February
- 18% of 2019 allocation spent at end of February
|
EXCHEQUER FUNDING (80%) |
LA FUNDING (20%) |
COMBINED TOTAL |
|
€2,076,021 |
€519,005 |
€2,595,026 |
|
Expenditure as at 28 February 2019 |
||
|
Scheme |
no |
amount |
|
HAGS |
44 |
€439,131.67 |
|
MAGS |
3 |
€10,193.00 |
|
HOPS |
3 |
€13,549.68 |
|
Total |
50 |
€462,874.35 |