Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for that question. I thank the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for the disability housing strategy they recently launched. When we talk about housing, we should talk about universal design. A particular property should be suitable for a person with a disability, an older person or whoever else. A property should meet the needs of whoever needs to access it. Deputy Hourigan talks to me clearly and at all times about the need for universal design. Local authorities have a long way to travel on this issue and some are better than others. They must ensure proper allocation and universal design. If more local authorities addressed the need for universal design, more people could access properties and live independently, or could be supported to live independent. A key focus of mine is to support people in independent living and to ensure there is proper personal assistant support for that. We must also bring into the conversation how technology can support people to live independently. Local authorities have roads to travel in this regard. They do not have a target to provide, say, 5% of homes for people with disabilities. In actual fact, they need to meet those people's needs, no different from the way they meet the needs of able-bodied people. They should be able to meet the needs of all.