Donegal County Council has been asked to organise drop-in events to provide clarity on the new enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme.
Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh called for the events, to be held in council offices or a local hotel, to invite people to talk directly to housing personnel on the enhanced scheme.
Cllr Kavanagh told Tuesday’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District that, from speaking with people, there seemed to be a lot of ‘misinformation and incorrect information’ in the public domain relating to the scheme.
Cllr Kavanagh said he felt it would be a great help to homeowners if the proper information on applying for the scheme and the details of the scheme itself were made available at public sessions so that homeowners would know that they had the correct up to date information available and were clear about the application process and grant entitlements etc.
In reply, Liam Ward, Director of Service, said that the Housing section of the council was particularly busy, but he would suggest the idea of drop in events to them. Mr Ward said there is significant communication both via Press Statements and Presentations as well as one to one contact with homeowners. The Department ‘Guidelines’ and ‘Your Questions Answered’ are also publicly available via the website.
The Council is considering further utilising our official communication channels, social media, including the use of potential webinars where it can be helpful for homeowners to work their way through the process.
As of 8th September, there are 2,303 online registrations with Donegal County Council for grants for defective concrete block remediation. Forty homes have had works completed and grants fully paid under the 90/10 scheme. A further 39 applications are on site at Stage 2 of the process.
