Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am fully committed to ensuring that accessible social homes are available to persons with disabilities. Budget 2021 has made available €3.3 billion towards a wide range of housing programmes that will deliver 12,750 new social homes for next year. A record 9,500 of these homes will be new build homes, designed and planned using guidelines, build standards and planning regulations supported by the Department. In respect of construction funding over the period from 2016 to 2019, the Department provided almost €2.1 billion to local authorities to deliver new social homes, including new homes for people with disabilities. I will arrange for the officials to provide the Deputy with a breakdown, by local authority. The detailed breakdown of housing funding for 2020 will be finalised at the year's end.

The capital assistance scheme is a key programme of delivery of homes for persons with disabilities. The Department also provides a range of specialised grants, including housing adaptation grants for people with a disability of up to €30,000 to assist them to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out. The mobility aids grant scheme is available to fast-track grants of up to €6,000 to cover a suite of basic measures and works to help and assist with mobility problems for any member of a household.

It is also worth noting the national housing strategy for people with a disability is due to be reviewed in 2021 and an advisory group is due to meet before the end of this year to assess the pathway to go forward. Each local authority, as the Deputy will be aware, has a housing and disability steering group that includes a director of services of housing, the chair of the council and members of the HSE. This is due to meet a minimum of four times each calendar year.

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