Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is something on which I will work with the Senator before the report is due in the autumn. To be clear, it is not that we have not mentioned any category; it is about the overall housing plan. Each local authority will have to tell us what it needs in each category. While we want to make that happen, the local authorities are being told clearly to cater for everyone in that regard. We have been clear on the commitment to design, quality and funding because if we are to get acceptance of social housing where we cannot get it at the moment, we have to have quality build and design. While we are under pressure in terms of the numbers, I want to be clear that we will not renegue on the spend or on meeting the needs of people of all abilities. We have asked local authorities to bring forward new designs and we will reward imagination as best we can in that regard.

On adaption of houses, there has been an increase in the funding for next year. In the past year, approximately 8,000 houses were adapted in the private sector. Enough funding has been secured to bring that up to approximately 10,000 for 2017, if need be, but approximately 9,000 houses should be adapted under that scheme. The funding is available. Extra money was given to local authorities. Most local authorities who could prove they needed more money got that. We are committed to doing more of that if it is needed because we recognise that people want to stay in their homes, which is the purpose of the scheme. Retrofitting work is ongoing on public housing and so on but privately, over 9,000 should be able to have their houses adapted in the year ahead, and if we need more money we will find it.

Senator Kelleher mentioned the transition of people out of the various homes. My understanding is that this is not a money issue. The finance should be available. The Health Service Executive provided €20 million and that has been matched by the Government so money should not be an issue. I will try to find out the main barriers in that regard.