Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I wish to raise on the Adjournment the issue of elderly people who want to downsize their living accommodation as their house is too large, now their families have grown up and left. We had a programme in place that allowed local authorities to purchase those houses and provide alternative accommodation to them. I have come across a few cases recently where people were advised that this programme is no longer available to them. That is the context in which I tabled this motion. A significant opportunity is being lost. The value of property has dropped, the local authorities are trying to provide housing for families and we could have a situation, where an elderly couple live in a four bedroom house, but all they require is a two bedroom house. They want to relocate to an area, where their neighbours are people of a similar age and services are nearby. Their needs are two-fold, they want security and they can no longer afford to continue to maintain and heat their large house. At the same time, there is a major demand on local authorities to provide social housing but they do not have the money to build new houses. I wonder if we can restore that former policy. I understand that when it was in place it worked well, especially in areas where there were a large number of elderly people. I suggest that issue be examined by local authorities with a view to resolving a number of issues in the policy area.