Ms Caroline Timmons:

We can ask for the strategic plans. I think what they are doing now is looking at their terms of reference and asking them to be more ambitious in their targets. Now that we have got the supply issue coming through, we have more supply of social housing coming. That was one of the keys we needed to enable progress because there is no point in looking at allocating the property if one has not the houses to allocate. Now that we do and the numbers are starting to come through, it is to make sure that those strategic plans plan for some of that housing to be specifically for those people who are waiting on the housing list. I concur with the Senator that it is appalling for people to have to wait for a very long time. I think that is a factor of how complex it is to deal with disability.

The only way that we can do so is to consider that aspect at an early level of allocation. It is a question of making the steering groups work. The Senator is right, in that we need to get them to function properly. The Housing Agency is aware of it and working hard on same.

Deputy Ó Broin asked whether I knew what percentage of social housing in the pipeline was being designed for people with disabilities. I am sorry, but I do not have those data with me. I will try to get them for him. Where the data that we are collecting on housing are concerned, we must get the types that we need. I agree that the type the Deputy mentioned might be useful. When we return to the Department, I will check to see whether those data are available. If not, I will raise them as something that it would be useful to gather.

The Deputy asked for the percentage of allocations in 2018. I believe that the committee has been provided with data by the Housing Agency on the 2016, 2017 and 2018 allocations in respect of each local authority. We asked the housing subgroup to collect those data each year.