Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak on amendments Nos. 41 and 42. What we are discussing here could be described as social or voluntary housing. I am proposing a system of integrated housing for a specified age group, for example, people over 70 years of age. There are many examples of this in rural areas where people who are no longer able to continue living alone, due to lack of services, lack of care or for security reasons, move into a system of integrated housing. Integrated housing means housing where care is provided, health services are available and there is security. They live independently and continue to live in that home for much longer. They continue to live in the community, as most people wish to do.

There are a number of examples of the benefits of this throughout the country. If the people concerned have a home in the country, they give up that home. Sometimes the local authority will take it over and make it available for housing other people. There are people who would like to move out into the country and many people are desperately in need of housing, so this frees up housing as well.

I ask the Minister to remove this. The developers and voluntary groups in many cases provide this system of housing, and it is an impediment to them to have the restriction placed on them. This is a difficult scheme of housing to operate, and people must raise funding. It is very important that we continue to provide this. We are conscious that there is a housing crisis not just in the cities but across the country. While there is much talk about it being resolved, there is not much action on it at present. There are people and builders who are ready to move on these houses but this provision is creating a difficulty for them. In fact, amendment No. 42 specifically identifies what is integrated housing. In this case we are talking about elderly people over 70 years of age, and the services are provided along with the housing.

I often think, and many people have said this to me, that the terms we use for housing, such as "social housing" and "affordable housing", are not very wise. It is pity we should have to classify people and put them into sections or label them for housing. There should be a better term than "social and affordable housing". Everybody's home is his or her castle and people want homes. That is what we should provide. In this instance, the Minister is putting obstacles in the way of developers and communities who have plans to build and deliver houses for older people throughout the country. I ask him to re-examine this.

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