Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Dolan on his introduction of the motion. I know him of old from his role in the disability area. It is something in which I have a particular interest and on which we can all agree.

There are a number of aspects to the issue. I can only speak from my first-hand experiences in Limerick, where the main service providers in residential settings include the Daughters of Charity at St. Vincent's Hospital in Lisnagry, Bawnmore, and St. Joseph's Foundation in Charleville. There are also service providers such as Enable Ireland. They do fantastic work.

A number of points have been made. I refer to congregated settings. It is a positive measure to have people with disabilities living in their communities. It is very natural, but their housing requires a bit more work than normal housing and resources have to be provided. When Senator Coffey was Minister of State and had responsibility for housing, he provided funding for the Cappamore voluntary housing association to build up to 12 units to accommodate people with disabilities. That was very progressive and positive, and provided housing in a rural village setting. I commend and thank him on behalf of the people of Cappamore, who were delighted with the positive measure.

From my reading around the issue, I have been struck by the reporting by local authorities of the number of units provided for people with disabilities on an annual basis. I was struck by the fact that public funds are being used, yet there does not appear to be any reporting structure outside that of local authority members. That has to be changed. I assumed that a reporting structure was in place, but I found there was not. The action plan for housing should contain an automatic requirement for such a reporting structure. If we had that information, we would be able to compare local authorities. Some local authorities are doing fantastic work, but perhaps others are not doing as well. We have to benchmark the provision of services if public funds are involved.

Senator Boyhan referred to unspent Part V funding. A large chunk of that should probably go towards disability funding, which encompasses a broad spectrum. I know of elderly parents looking after their severely disabled son who attends one of the main service providers in the Limerick city. He lives with them on a daily basis. The parents are now in their 70s. Luckily, someone in the mid-western HSE region is involved in the case and is seeking long-term accommodation for the family.

One of the greatest worries for the parents of children with disabilities is what will happen when they die. It is one of the imponderables, as Senator Dolan knows. We have never found a satisfactory mechanism to deal with this issue. Service providers such as St. Joseph's, Bawnmore and the Daughters of Charity in Lisnagry provide residential facilities. It is an issue we need to address. It is not an easy issue to deal with because properties suitable for those with disabilities need to be found. Invariably, that involves bungalow settings, living on the ground floor of a building or the adaptation of housing.

It is extremely important that we find ways for people to live their local areas. In cases where a son or daughter is living with his or her parents, we have to find a mechanism whereby he or she can live in a unit nearby. The human dimension of the issues that people with disabilities face is extremely important.

I wholeheartedly support the motion. It is opportune that the Minister is introducing the action plan for housing. These matters can be integrated. The positive aspects are the funding of €10 million provided under the CAS system for Cappamore voluntary community housing by the former Minister of State, Senator Coffey. The move away from congregated settings is very important, as is the €20 million provided to adapt buildings. The disabled person's grant is good, but it is limited. Councillors, Deputies and Senators have sought such grants for constituents over many years. We have to bring the issue of disability to the mainstream. We are getting to that point. We have to ensure that people can live in their communities and that houses are adapted.

I welcome the establishment by the Minister of specific groups with the local authorities, but while all the dots are in local authorities, they need to be joined up in terms of benchmarking. Serious levels of public funding are involved. When a report is produced it should be sent to local authority members, as is their entitlement, as well as to the Department and the Minister. That would create a certain cohesion in funding. We are dealing with human lives. Part V funding should be integrated as part of the annual reporting mechanism. The action plan for housing will be published on Tuesday of next week, I understand. I welcome that and have no doubt that a section of it will deal with housing for those with disabilities. I would like to see specific funding provided and for the area of disabilities to become part of the mainstream and the normal provision of social housing. On occasion, people living in villages or rural or urban settings have been moved from their home environment to units that might be ideal in terms of physical structure but do not meet their emotional and human needs, which is extremely important.