'They need the renovations to shower, or get to bed or upstairs etc. ' vital Leitrim grant

Elderly people are being forced to pay for making alterations to their own homes due to the hardship of accessing the relevant grant, a meeting heard this week. 

Cllr Roisin Kenny had asked that the Leitrim Count contact the HSE, asking for more resources to be put into the provision of occupational therapists in the county, saying there "are long delays in getting OT reports in order to process grant applications for elderly people and those with disabilities who often urgently need home alterations in order to remain living in their own homes safely."

She said: "This has come up with several different constituents who have applied for grants and are waiting home improvements done and are waiting on the OT. Apart from ordinary members of the community that need OT, those people need them as well. Is there any way of getting more resources to speed that process up?"

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Cllr Brendan Barry supported the motion. "People applying for the grant need adaptions to their home so they can shower, or get to bed or upstairs etc. The OT is doing everything they can to make sure that the person can live comfortably in their home If there is a shortage there, it definitely needs to be improved."

Cllr Paddy O'Rourke commented that "some people I dealt with were forced to hire a private builder and while the money is reimbursed, it is just a more bureaucracy that people could do without."

Cllr Kenny said that there are "others who simply can't afford to that because they have so many other additional responsibilities."