Housing Adaptation Grant Donegal 2026: stairlift and bathroom grants up to €40,000 from Donegal County Council

Last updated: 12 October 2026 · For Donegal County Council

Donegal has a single local authority. Donegal residents can claim up to €40,000 through the State's Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, or up to €8,000 through the Mobility Aids Grant Scheme, same national rules, applied locally. All Donegal residents apply to Donegal County Council.

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• Every answer for Donegal County Council's application form, laid out part by part and ready to copy across
• A supporting statement setting out why the work is needed
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• Quote request emails, ready to send
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How to apply in Donegal, step by step

1. Identify your council: Donegal County Council.
2. Check whether you need an OT report. You need one for a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only a stairlift or fixed hoist). Ask your GP or public health nurse for an HSE occupational therapist referral early, or use a private OT. If you pay a private OT and the grant is paid, the council pays back up to €300 of the fee as part of the grant, not on top of it (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only where the council decides the assessment was needed). If you have none, the council can arrange an assessment after it gets your application.
3. Check what the council wants on quotes. The national form asks for no set number. After approval, the council asks for information from the contractor doing the work, such as a quote and their tax reference number. More than one itemised quote on the same spec is still a sensible way to check the price. Donegal County Council publishes a list of contractors on its housing grants page, and you can use any contractor.
4. Download the application form from your council's website (links below).
5. Submit: the form (with the Doctor’s Certificate signed and stamped by your GP, for the Housing Adaptation or Mobility Aids Grant), proof of income for the previous tax year for the owner and their spouse or partner (a Revenue Statement of Liability, not a P60, plus a Department of Social Protection payment statement for payments that are not on it, such as Disability Allowance or Fuel Allowance), proof that Local Property Tax is paid, deferred or exempt for all years, with the owner’s name and the address, and an OT report if the work needs one. If the grant comes to €10,000 or more you will also need tax clearance from Revenue, which the council asks for after approval.
6. Wait for written approval. The national target is a decision within six weeks of a complete application. Do not start works.
7. Have works carried out after approval. Submit completion documents to receive payment.

Steps, documents, quotes and OT reports: national application form, Donegal County Council, national guidelines, December 2024, checked 12 October 2026.

Donegal council application details

Donegal County Council

• Send to the Housing Section at your local council office. The form lists five: Public Services Centre, Malin Road, Carndonagh; Public Services Centre, Neil T. Blaney Road, Letterkenny; Lifford (the English form says the Three Rivers Centre, the Irish form and the council’s district page say County House, The Diamond, Lifford F93 Y622); Public Services Centre, Gweedore Road, Dungloe; Public Services Centre, Drumlonagher, Donegal Town
• Phone: 074 9153900 (the main council number; there is no grants line)
• Email, for questions: info@donegalcoco.ie
• Grants page: donegalcoco.ie
• Covers: All of County Donegal

Addresses, phone numbers and emails checked on Donegal County Council’s own pages and application form on 12 October 2026. Confirm with the council before posting anything.

Donegal County Council grants for pensioners, stairlifts and bathrooms

When people look for Donegal County Council grants for pensioners, or housing grants from Donegal County Council, they usually mean three grants. Donegal County Council runs all three, and all three go in on the same application form.

• Housing Aid for Older People: up to €10,700 for homeowners aged 66 or over, for essential repairs and improvements such as heating, windows or rewiring.
• Mobility Aids Grant: up to €8,000 for a stairlift, grab rails, a ramp or a level-access shower, for household incomes up to €37,500.
• Housing Adaptation Grant: up to €40,000 for bigger work such as a through-floor lift, a downstairs bathroom or an extension, for household incomes up to €75,000.

These are also what people mean by home improvement grants for pensioners, or grants for disabled adaptations, in Donegal. There is no separate HSE stair lift grant in Donegal. The council pays the grant, and the HSE’s part is usually the occupational therapist report.

How long it takes in Donegal

The national guidelines ask councils to decide within six weeks of receiving a fully completed and valid application. That is a target, not a deadline, and the clock starts only when nothing is missing: a council sends back an application that is missing key documents, with a checklist. We found no processing time of its own on Donegal County Council’s pages (checked 12 October 2026).

If the work needs an occupational therapist report (a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used), ask your GP or public health nurse for the referral early, and ask how long the wait is: we found no official waiting times for these assessments. If you pay a private OT and the grant is paid, the council pays back up to €300 of the fee as part of the grant, not on top of it (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only where the council decides the assessment was needed). Order nothing until the council approves in writing: work started before approval is not paid for.

Getting the application form

The form is on the Donegal County Council website, under housing grants. You can also ask for a paper copy at the council offices or by phone, using the details above. Our guide to the housing adaptation grant application form shows what each section asks for and what to have ready before you start.

What's specific to applying in Donegal

• Largest county on the Wild Atlantic Way, extensive coastline means salt-air weatherproofing essential for outdoor stairlifts (Bundoran, Killybegs, Dungloe, Inishowen).
• Donegal is geographically remote from much of the country, installer travel time can affect scheduling.
• Strong Gaeltacht presence in the west and northwest. The council publishes the application form in Irish too.
• Listed-structure rules in Donegal town and parts of Letterkenny.
• Inishowen has its own council office, the Public Services Centre in Carndonagh, one of the five local offices listed on the form.

Donegal stairlift coverage by town

Stairlift and home adaptation installers work across all of Donegal. Common service areas include: Letterkenny, Donegal town, Buncrana, Bundoran, Ballybofey, Ballyshannon, Carndonagh, Killybegs, Glenties, Dungloe, Ardara.

FAQs, Donegal specifically