Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue and I am grateful the Minister of State is here to listen to my concerns and those of my constituents and I hope she will be in a position to respond.

We are all very familiar with the generally excellent work carried out by our local authorities and contractors in terms of housing adaptations for older people and people with disabilities. Most of this work is carried out to allow elderly people to continue to live independently and overcome any difficulties associated with their advancing years. One of the most common problems encountered is people no longer being able to get up and down stairs. Usually, as Members of the House are only too well aware, the solution is the provision of a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, or the installation of a chair lift or a through-floor lift. There was always an emphasis on trying to provide accommodation on ground floors.

It is the option of a through floor lift which has caused me some concern in recent times. There are a number of issues at stake. I know of one case where a constituent only wanted a chair lift, which is a much easier and cheaper solution, but the local authority insisted on installing a through-floor lift based on the recommendation of an occupational therapist who simply refused to take into account the expressed wishes of the older person affected. In this case the elderly person was told to take it or leave it.

The second and really important issue of which we must be aware is that these lifts are sometimes installed in houses for which they are totally unsuitable. This means they could represent a danger to the lives of the people who use them. I have been in a number of small - often terraced - houses in which these lifts have become the sole method of access to the upstairs bedroom. Effectively, their installation has led to windows being blocked off. One does not need to be an architect, a civil engineer or a fire officer to be aware that there is an inherent danger in this regard. I have examined the guidelines which obtain in the UK. Those implemented by Isle of Wight Council clearly state, "Accommodating the occupant wholly at ground floor level should be a first consideration whenever possible." I can understand how, in these straitened times, more must be done with less. However, when less means a through-floor lift - in respect of the installation of which there are no official guidelines in place at local authority level - we should all be very concerned. Where through-floor lifts must be used, stringent requirements must be put in place. Such requirements include fire barriers, smoke seals, alarms and sprinklers. Critically, there must be an insistence that bedrooms have windows capable of being opened and large enough to facilitate a rescue or escape in the event of a fire or other emergency. At present, local authorities here are operating in the absence of guidelines such as those to which I refer. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could establish whether such guidelines are made available to local authorities by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. A much more transparent system must be put in place in order that all of those involved can be clear on what are the obligations. This matter must be dealt with before any kind of unnecessary or avoidable tragedy occurs.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Nash for raising this important and serious issue. As housing authorities, local authorities have an overall role in respect of ensuring that the dwellings they provide meet the needs of tenants and, through the housing adaptation grant schemes, to support people with disabilities and the elderly. Clearly, technological solutions play an important role in this regard and all reasonable and feasible solutions merit consideration. In the context of the specific points raised by the Deputy, I will seek to discover whether - if it does not already do so - the Department can supply guidelines similar to those already available in the United Kingdom in respect of this matter.

I feel very strongly about the need to make real and meaningful provision for vulnerable groups and, in particular, those with disabilities or older persons. In this regard, my Department published the design guidelines Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities for local authorities in furtherance of the need to deliver high-quality homes and sustainable communities in a manner that aims to ensure all households can access good-quality housing appropriate to household circumstances and in their particular communities of choice. These guidelines promote the essential requirement that dwellings should be capable of adaptation to meet the changing needs of residents during the course of their lifetimes. Section 5.2 of this guidance deals specifically with the flexibility and accessibility aspect of the design of homes and recognises that older people or persons with moderate disabilities who wish to remain independent in their own homes should be able to do so without the need for costly redesign and disruptive remodelling of the dwellings The aim of the guidance is to inform by setting out key design principles rather than prescriptive solutions. That said, appendix (ii) draws on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's lifetime homes standard, which states "The Design should incorporate provision for a stairlift and a suitably identified space for potential installation of a through the floor lift from the ground to the first floor."

A key aim in the National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011-2016 is to support people with disabilities in living independently in their own homes and communities, where appropriate. The promotion of independent living requires the implementation of a range of targeted actions and supports to assist people with disabilities in remaining at home, including the provision of equitable access to specific design options and mechanisms to support people with disabilities who wish to live independently. In this regard, priority will continue to be given to ensuring the most effective operation of the adaptation grant schemes for people with disabilities and older people. While these grant schemes do not specifically reference through-floor lifts, they do, however, place an emphasis on ensuring that the most appropriate works are carried out to meet the needs of the applicant and that the potential long term needs of the applicant are addressed having regard to his or her disability. This is the correct approach where individual needs and solutions may vary widely. We are way past the point at which a one-size-fits-all solution is tenable.

As a longer-term policy objective, and in line with the commitment in the programme for Government to promote and support universal design, an examination of lifetime housing policy will be undertaken. This will also consider the accessibility needs of wheelchair users and the increasing role of technology in supporting people with disabilities in living independently. In this regard I will certainly consider the points made by Deputy Nash. I am aware that his concerns are very specific to through-floor lifts, and if there is a lack of guidelines in respect of the latter, I will seek to rectify the position.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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From my experience of dealing with local authorities and others in respect of this issue, I am in a position to state that there definitely appears to be an absence of such guidelines. I am very concerned that there seems to be no guidance available from the Department to local authorities. I am also concerned about the fact that local authorities do not have access to any other form of guidelines and that they have not taken it upon themselves to introduce such guidelines.

There has been a move away from extending the ground floor accommodation of older persons and those with disabilities on the basis that such extensions are costly. I understand that we live in difficult times and I am aware of the demands being placed on the resources of the Department and local authorities. By and large, local authorities do an extremely good job in terms of working within the limited resources available to them. I am of the view that the decision to focus on the provision of through-floor lifts as opposed to extending ground-floor accommodation is motivated by a lack or finance rather than any other consideration. I do not believe that fire officers are consulted with regard to the appropriateness of introducing this type of equipment into people's homes. I am currently dealing with the case of an individual who is obliged to take a substantial amount of medication and whose GP and consultant are, as a result of the type of condition with which their patient is dealing, absolutely opposed to the installation of a through-floor lift in his home. They are of the view that his health will suffer and that using the lift would - for a range of different reasons I prefer not to discuss - prove extremely problematic for him.

The approach being used at present is not working. Notwithstanding the financial constraints that apply, the Department must work with local authorities, chief fire officers, occupational therapists and others with an interest in this area to introduce some kind of guidance and ensure that the kinds of solution that will work for older persons and those with disabilities will be forthcoming.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I share the Deputy's concern regarding the need for proper and appropriate solutions that meet people's individual needs. I accept that local authorities probably use different approaches and that some of them still carry out extensions to tenants' dwellings. We are reviewing the scheme at present because we want to ensure that maximum value will be obtained. In that context, I will pursue the issue of the guidelines on the Deputy's behalf. Deputy Nash raised a number of serious issues in respect of safety. I assure him that I will deal with this matter as quickly as possible and communicate with him further in respect of the specific points he raised.