Ms Caroline Timmons:

Regarding target setting and understanding the demographics of a population, we fully agree it is important that local authorities plan properly for the future in this context. This is underpinned by the fact that the proportion of the population aged over 65 is increasing. Local authorities will need to understand that. The way we are asking them to do that is principally through the HNDA, which now forms part of a suite of tools local authorities can use when preparing their housing strategies as part of their development plans. We have seen some six local authorities successfully come through that HNDA development plan process, including Dublin City Council and Kildare, Kerry, Clare and Galway county councils. Part of the HNDA framework requires local authorities to have a chapter on specialist housing. It means they must explore the demographics of their populations and then plan in their housing strategies for what their provision will be for older people as part of their development plans. They must then signal that to the planners and the housing sector. It is extremely important that this starts coming through.

The second strand of this relates to more immediate implementation. In the housing delivery action plans, we asked all the local authorities drawing up their implementation plans for the next five years to make provision in those plans for housing for older people, those with disabilities and other specialist groupings. Older people are one of the groups being considered. More recently, at the end of March, we communicated with the local authorities that we wanted to see a little more in the content of those action plans to describe the targets that are going to be set and how they are proposing to achieve them. I fully agree with Deputy Ó Broin on this point. It is important that local authorities are examining this issue and have targets they will try to reach in this regard. We will see the fruits of this in the next few years as the local authorities progress through their plans and get better at the planning part of HNDA, which is being bedded into the process now.