Mary Moran (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English, for coming to the House today to take this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Kelly. I have raised this Commencement matter on foot of a serious and urgent representation I received over the summer, which I have attempted to resolve both at local level and with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Before making this representation, I have raised repeatedly the lack of suitable disability housing for those in need in County Louth. I am dealing with a few serious cases that I intend to highlight today as a representative sample, in which the quality of life for the individuals concerned is being impeded due to the lack of suitable housing in the area to which to transfer these individuals and their families. In some cases, the medical issue or disability has been exacerbated due to the living situation or accidents have occurred due to stairs. I do not raise these matters lightly or without approaching them from numerous angles with Louth County Council and various council members. There simply is no suitable housing to be found for those with a disability on the housing list or the transfer list.

I have made hundreds of calls, attended meetings and have written letters and e-mails in respect of specific cases over the past two years. In one case, the person concerned has provided an abundance of medical evidence proving the current living situation is unsuitable for her condition but yet, she still remains in a two-storey home. Two years later, I continue to be informed that there is no accommodation suitable for this family. The representation I mentioned earlier which I received over the summer is also of extreme urgency. It involves a young family with four young children that received the devastating news that due to his diagnosis of bone cancer, their four-year-old son must have his leg amputated on 4 November. This young child's mother was also delivered of a new baby last Friday. When this little boy comes home from hospital in a wheelchair with his family, he will be returning to a two-storey house that does not have a downstairs toilet or any facilities for wheelchairs downstairs. I understand the child's condition is extremely painful and his parents must carry him up and down the stairs several times during the day for toileting and bedtime. I visited the house myself and completely agree it is not suitable for a wheelchair. I raised this issue in July in the hope that by November, something would be in place, namely, either the house would be adapted or the family would be accepted onto the transfer list to move.Unfortunately, nothing has happened since July. I have been most disappointed with the response to the case. Once the housing transfer form was submitted, it took a number of weeks, and several phone calls, for this family to be contacted. When the family was initially contacted they were told the matter would be dealt with in due course. That is okay if somebody is seeking assistance, as I understand there are priorities, but this case is a major priority. At the very least, an occupational therapist should have attended the home at the earliest opportunity, as far back as last July, to get the necessary assessment out of the way so that when a house became available, those matters would already have been addressed. What this family is going through is life changing and very stressful. This young boy will have to use a wheelchair after his surgery and he will come home to a house that is not wheelchair accessible. There are not enough bedrooms, and there is not sufficient space, in the house. I am disappointed with the response in each of the cases I have raised here and I am disappointed with the provision of disability medical housing in County Louth.

In May of this year, €10 million was allocated in funding for supports for people with disability. I would not raise the cases if they were not so urgent. I ask the Minister to examine such situations and to improve disability housing.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Moran for raising the issue. I am sorry neither of my colleagues could be present to respond to the matter. They wished to be present but something came up. Social housing is a key priority for me and the Government, especially the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Minister of State at that Department, Deputy Paudie Coffey. Under the Social Housing Strategy 2020, the total targeted provision of more than 110,000 social housing units will address the needs of the approximately 90,000 households on the housing waiting lists while also providing scope to address further emerging needs, as in the example Senator Moran raised today. Social housing targets have been set for each local authority, including Louth County Council, up to 2017. The targets set and the funding allocated are being invested by local authorities in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes designed to accommodate 25% of those currently on the housing waiting lists. The target for Louth is 778 units, the delivery of which is supported by an allocation of €57 million.

In line with the targets set for social housing delivery, the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, announced a major social housing construction programmes in May and July this year, with €492 million of investment covering all 31 local authorities, involving more than 2,800 housing units. That included more than €150 million in approvals under the capital assistance scheme, which supports approved housing bodies in the provision of housing for homeless persons, the elderly and people with disabilities. The announcements included 75 new social housing units specifically for County Louth. Further details of targets, allocations and projects are available on the Department's website.

The assessment and allocation process for social housing support takes into account situations where a member of a household has a disability, such as in the case outlined by Senator Moran, and allows local authorities to prioritise the allocation of accommodation in those circumstances. Under section 63 of the Local Government Act 1991, a local authority is, subject to law, independent in the performance of its functions. Under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations, elected council members set down council policy in relation to the allocation of local authority housing in its allocation scheme, including determining the order of priority for the allocation of dwellings by the authority. The chief executive of the local authority is required to make allocations, including decisions on transfers for existing local authority tenants, in accordance with this scheme. I understand Louth County Council's scheme provides that transfer applications will be considered in situations where a transfer would relieve a serious medical condition, including physical or mental disability.

Section 22 of the 2009 Act also provides that the chief executive may disregard the order of priority given to a household under an allocation scheme where the household is being provided with social housing support arising from specified exceptional circumstances, including exceptional medical or compassionate grounds. Support is also provided to local authorities to meet the needs of tenants with a disability through funding for adaptations and extensions to social housing units. In May, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, allocated €10 million for these supports for 2015, an increase on recent years, with almost €440,000 being made available to Louth County Council. In summary, local authorities have a range of options available by means of which they can address cases of specific need, whether through use of the increased funding for adapting existing houses; or by making an alternative social house available where this is more suitable; or acquiring a property if that is considered the most appropriate option in individual circumstances.

Senator Moran will appreciate that the Minister cannot directly tell the council what to do or who to give a house to but a range of options is available to address situations, such as the one outlined by Senator Moran. One of those measures should be available and I hope the matter will be resolved shortly.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Moran should be very brief. She had eight minutes already.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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This matter must be addressed.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I know but the order provided for five minutes and the limit is eight minutes. We are now on the tenth minute.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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I am very disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Kelly, is not in the House to take this matter. It is one thing to say this scheme or that scheme is available and that €10 million has been allocated but this family sought assistance in July. It would not have cost anything for somebody to go out and assess the situation. It is now November and the child's operation is next week and yet an occupational therapist has still not even visited the house. The Minister of State is talking about what might happen in the future.

The other case I mentioned is two and a half years in progress. I am told the person concerned is on the list and that she is a priority and yet nothing is happening. We can have all of that in writing but if the situation is not moving, then the system is not working. The Minister must intervene and ask about the success rate and where houses have been allocated. I am in contact with the council every day but we need movement. There is no point in saying something will be addressed. I ask when that will happen. The cases to which I refer cannot wait for another year or two years.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is sorry he could not be here as he would be here if he could. He is aware of the case and I will report back to him also. The Senator must appreciate the Minister's job is to set out the policy and to provide funding for it. The funding has been allocated to Louth County Council. The decisions that are made daily as to who get houses and when occupational therapists visit are matters for the local council. I will raise the Senator's concerns with the Department, which is in constant liaison with the various councils. I cannot explain why an occupational therapist has not been able to visit. That is not a decision for the Minister, Deputy Kelly. It is a local authority decision.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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If an answer is not forthcoming from the council, the next step is to bring the matter to the attention of the Minister.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We will not resolve the matter here.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I do not question the fact the Senator has raised the matter here, I am just saying I cannot account for a council's decision not to send an occupational therapist to visit a house. I do not understand that. I will raise the matter with the Minister.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Moran has made her case and the Minister of State has responded. I do not think we can do anything further here today. It is a very sad case. Perhaps the Senator should talk to the county manager in her local county.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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I have done that.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Moran.