Government grants for facilities for the disabled

THE Balearic Government has committed itself to financing (up to 70 percent) the cost of projects put forward by associations for the disabled for constructing new centres, refurbishing existing centres or improving their existing equipment. Between 20 and 25 associations for disabled people on the islands will be able to benefit from these grants, for which there is a total budget of 7.5 million euros and which is destined “exclusively” for projects which benefit people with any kind of disability. Rosa Puig, the Balearic Minister for the President's Office and Sports, was speaking after a meeting with associations and federations representing disabled people on the Balearics to inform them of this investment by the Government and that, for 2006, the budget has grown by five million euros in comparison with 2005. Puig, who said that this rise had been given “at the request of the centres which considered that the level of the grants were quite low”, added that the maximum percentage granted to the associations for the work would be 70 percent of the cost because the majority of these associations are “without money and receive similar help from private companies”. However, Puig said that since 2004 grants to these associations from the Government had been directed “solely” at extending centres so that they could attend to more people with any type of disability. She also commented that, from 2005, this new range of grants had been put in place (budget 2'500'000 euros) to fund improvements for the disabled.