Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, to the committee. Housing is one of the most fundamental things that we need to be able to navigate this world, for obvious reasons. I do not need to tell the Minister of State the importance of housing. However, housing for a person with a disability is a battle, most of the time. I very much welcome the national housing strategy for disabled people. It is only in its second year. How is the Minister of State's Department evaluating that policy? What are the markers that will be used? We are two years into the strategy now. Is there a practical evaluation on how it has improved the lives, the housing situations and predicaments of so many people with disabilities? Currently, if a person with a disability who needs supported living, a house that has universal design or whatever the case may be comes to me, we direct that person to sign up for housing assistance payments, HAP, and the social housing list. However, the possibility of them getting a home on social housing is limited due to the many external factors that must line up; first, a house is needed and a support network is needed, particularly in the case of assisted living.

As far as I can see, the current system is not working. There is no proactive way to ensure that someone's son, daughter, brother or sister will have a safe place to live. We are constantly in a crisis situation in cases where an individual cannot live at home with their elderly parents or where their parents are sadly deceased. We are crisis situation until a house is found.

Is the Department putting a process in place to look at individuals who are born with a disability, or acquire a disability, and who will need housing in the foreseeable future? Sometimes, we have 18, 20 or 25 years to plan for this individual but at the moment we are not doing that. I wish to know how this is going to help people practically on the ground.

The Local Authorities Management Agency, LAMA, was before this committee a couple of months ago and it proudly proclaimed that it was having a pilot programme on universal design and building houses with universal design. In the Department's view, are pilot programmes enough for universal design? It is State money that goes into building much of social housing. We have the biggest budget ever for social housing but if we do not build houses that have longevity to match the needs of a community, then we are putting good money into bad. In that case, housing adaptation grants will then be needed and constituents in social housing will call councils and politicians like us saying that they need their downstairs bathroom adapted or something else adapted. While universal design may be more expensive, why can we not spend good money on a product that will last for a long time and will fit the needs of a lot more people as they age, or whatever happens them, during their lives?

From a housing point of view, there are a lot of housing schemes and policies around supporting people from different backgrounds or predicaments to get their own home. What has the Department done around a person with a disability getting a mortgage?

Has the Department looked at specific mortgage types that someone who has a disability may avail of? Is there an equity scheme the State has looked at whereby a person who may be working, who needs a mortgage and who cannot get one might be able think he or she could get a mortgage, live independently under his or her own steam, pay his or her own mortgage and if he or she did, could buy out the State?