Swinford based Fianna Fáil Cllr Michael Smyth this week raised the issue of the slow turnaround in approving housing adaption grants for the elderly and for disabled persons in the county.
Cllr Smyth praised the council highly for its handling of the issue of grant support for businesses during the Covid-19 crisis - but said he felt that other grant approval areas may have slipped behind.
He told the October meeting of Mayo County Council: "I have to compliment Mayo County Council on delivering a huge amount of restart grants to businesses. However it is important we don’t leave a certain section of society behind - I am concerned about delays in process grants in relation to older people on buildings and people with disabilities.
"I understand that covid has restricted a lot of the work that can be done - however I do feel as we approach another escalation of restrictions, we should look at the lag that is there already and get them done.
"I am aware there are some applications that are a number of months behind that is due to inspections and maybe we could put resources to make sure they are in place that they are properly resourced. I understand there are restrictions in place when engineers visit houses."
Cllr Smyth's call was backed by his party whip Cllr Damien Ryan, who said: "I concur fully with Cllr Smyth, I have to compliment the council on the business grants but we need to expedite the housing aid grants and if resources are needed for it to be done, then they should be allocated."
Acting chief executive for Mayo County Council, Peter Duggan, told the meeting that the council will look into and try to get a quicker turnaround and clear the delay as quickly as possible.
