Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I thank the witnesses for being in front of us this afternoon.

I come wearing a hat that is a little bit different and I have different experiences from my colleagues on this side. Mr. Coleman talked about the 2,000 houses developed in the past number of years. What percentage of them were developed for people with additional needs? That is an important question because if the LDA is stepping into the role of State developer, I would like to know what percentage there is under the UNCRPD and that has universal design that can allow people to live ordinary lives in ordinary places. Looking at Shanganagh, there are 597 homes. When we do the whole breakdown of it, what percentage of the 597 are for people with additional needs? Looking at the Donore project, there are 542. What is the percentage there? What is the percentage of the St. Kevin’s project in Cork? The witnesses might need to gather figures. When it comes to housing, we talk about ESRI and the Central Bank. However, it is ordinary people who want to live ordinary lives in ordinary places. That can be a hard answer to give to me straight away, and I appreciate that. That is why I welcome that the LDA’s powers are being expanded to go out into the communities. That is to build on top of what Deputy Cooney has said here because I assume the local authorities, the LDA and the Housing Agency have a mapping mechanism done. We surely have mapped where we have serviced sites in our urban and rural areas that are totally untapped into. Has the LDA a proposal related to that which has gone to Government?

I would like to hear what is happening in Galway. What are the serviced sites in Galway? On the brink of where the city and the county join together, we are held up for 4,000 units of a development because of sewerage or water infrastructure. I know the LDA is hugely involved in that. While we are waiting for that roadblock to be unlocked, where will we go in Galway?

Returning to the Housing Agency, it has many strategies when it comes to disabilities – amazing ones, to be quite honest. The last will run from 2022 to 2027. We talk about strategies, but where is the implementation? Where is the watchdog within the agency? Where is its adaptation? In its own strategy, it states:

The Housing Agency has examined national and international examples of peer support models and explored what supports are currently available in Ireland and how, if necessary, they can be adapted or expanded to assist disabled people to live independent [here in Ireland].

Can the Housing Agency give examples of where it puts its strategy of different local authorities into action?