Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will touch on two issues they might share with us. The first is their relationship with the local authorities. That is critically important. In some cases, local authorities co-fund or support the rents, depending on the circumstances. That is a good one.

I know quite a few people who have fallen out of social housing through no fault of their own in different circumstances and they have ended up coming back to charities looking for housing. This is the second, and sometimes the third, time they have sought support housing through no fault of their own. It is sad, but more common than one might think. They might touch on their relationships with the local authorities. I hope that is positive.

The second is this point about the universal design. I have walked into support housing in recent times that does not fit the criteria of universal design. While we can advertise universal design, I would be of the view that no State funding should be given to any new housing scheme that does not have going forward in its development plan universal design. One hears of cases anecdotally. An elderly woman said to me recently that her family said she had to leave because she cannot get upstairs and there is no downstairs toilet or wash room. That is easily resolved. The local authorities have funding for that, but this was more pressure that it was time the woman moved into a place. The woman felt pressurised and vulnerable and really did not have anywhere to go to. Those who tried to advocate for that elderly lady were told they were poking their nose in somewhere. It is a difficult situation.

The witnesses might talk about their relationships with their relevant local authority or authorities, and also this issue of universal design because that is the key. We should be able to walk into any home with any set of circumstances or any set of disabilities and be able to live there. We visit people and people with disabilities in different sets of circumstances. We are human after all. It is about people living in these places but also family and friends coming to engage with those people in those places. I would be interested in some comments on that.