Mr. Rodd Bond:

I thank the committee for the insightful questions. Innovation is happening, but our challenge is that is very piecemeal. It is happening in different places at different speeds.

This morning, I heard that a new housing programme in Louth will request developers to respond with universal design standards, so things are starting to happen in that area. We need to programme it and to put a wider frame across such innovations, to encourage sharing and to have closer and more in-depth collaborations.

On the question of the situating of age-friendly housing, I think of our key policy of a few years ago which was to build sustainable neighbourhoods. I do not know if we have had a chance to see if, ten or 15 years later, they have cohesion and are holding together with all the mobility and labour market pulls and pushes. Are sustainable communities sustaining themselves?

It is important to embed age-friendly practices but this is a challenge across Europe. The core components will look different from traditional housing standards, which were around ergonomics and the size of flats, etc. They will include location, neighbourhoods and access to services such as transport. The guidelines need to be contextual and we will need to look at community connectivity, etc.

We need to put a lot of work into the digital dimension and the extent to which technology is embedded. There are core challenges around broadband infrastructure to support services but technology is changing so fast that there will be issues around procurement and supply. Our homes will move from being bricks and mortar to being something more connected to organic systems.

Senator Murnane O'Connor asked about stoves, and this highlights some of the interconnectivity and collaboration to which I referred. In County Louth, this is addressed by sustainable energy communities, working in conjunction with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The stove addresses the need for heat but the home needs insulation and other things for which there may be programmes we need to connect to.