William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I want to raise an issue that I have already raised with the housing Minister and his Minister of State. I want to use my time highlight an issue that does not always show up in the headlines relating to the homeless figures but which is very real and urgent, namely the growing number of people with disabilities who are effectively locked out of independent living.

I was contacted earlier this year by a young woman in her late 20s who was born with a disability. She has used a wheelchair since childhood. She is highly educated, works full time and contributes meaningfully to our society. However, despite doing everything right, studying, working and paying taxes, she has recently been removed from the social housing list in Laois because her income exceeds the threshold. On paper, she earns above the limit, which is €35,000 for a single person. In reality, that figure tells only half the story. Her net income is significantly reduced by the cost of disability. She pays for private physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, orthodontics and prolotherapy. She pays for private health insurance because she knows her medical card may be withdrawn because she is working. She has at times paid €70 for a single accessible-taxi journey to and from work. She does not know how long she will physically be able to sustain full-time employment. The uncertainty is not a choice. It is the reality of living with a progressive physical condition, but the system assesses her solely on gross income.

As a result of the fact that this young women lives at home with her parents, the HSE does not provide adequate personal assistance, PA, hours. On foot of that, she cannot live independently. Because she cannot live independently, she remains in the family home. It is a vicious circle. Her parents provide 24-7 support in the context of personal care and transport. That unpaid care has enormous economic value, yet it is invisible in the Department's housing assessment.

There are currently no wheelchair accessible apartments available to rent or buy in Portlaoise. Any home she might purchase would require extensive and costly renovation. That is, of course, if she some day may be in a position to purchase an apartment or a house. As a single applicant with a disability, she cannot access mortgage protection insurance; the risks are simply too high. This is the reality facing many people with disabilities who fall between two stools.

They are above the threshold for social housing, barely above €35,000, but far below what is required to secure accessible housing on the private market. We must ask ourselves whether our social housing income thresholds accounting for the cost of disability. Are we penalising people with disabilities for working? Are we creating distinctions for employment by failing to consider real, unavoidable disability-related expenditure?

We rightly speak about supporting independent living. We ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities but independence is impossible without housing. Housing policy must recognise disability creates structural barriers that income figures alone cannot capture. There must be flexibility in the assessment system to consider medical vulnerability, accessible needs and the sustainability of employment in the long term. We also need to increase the supply of universally designed and wheelchair-accessible homes as standard practice.

Homelessness is not only about rough sleeping or emergency accommodation. It is also about the hidden insecurity of adults who cannot leave the family home; adults who cannot access appropriate supports; and adults who see no viable pathway to independent living. We must ensure our housing system does not punish resilience, ambition or the desire to work. People with disabilities should not have to choose between employment and security.

I urge the Minister of State to: first, review the operation of social housing income thresholds as they apply to people with disabilities; second, I want him to examine how disability-related costs are factored into assessments; and, third, I want him to ensure those who are medically vulnerable are not excluded by inflexible criteria.

The Minister of State probably knows this already but Nelson Mandela said, "A winner is a dreamer who never gives up." I want the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, on my behalf, because I have already raised this with him. I am the dreamer, and I will never give up on this case for April until I succeed for her.

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