Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 477: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to facilitate the building of retirement villages and introduce purpose-built neighbourhoods for older people in existing communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17571/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Housing policy and support, as set out in the Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, is designed to reflect the needs of our growing and diverse population and to target supports at the particular needs of people in different phases of their life. The Government has undertaken a broad range of actions as part of a strategic response to enhance the range of housing supports and services available to older people. These actions range from the introduction of better-targeted financial supports to the development of inter-agency protocols to ensure coordinated service delivery at local level where there is a care dimension in association with meeting housing need.

Apart from the provision of retirement-type accommodation by the private sector, the specific accommodation needs of older people can be directly met through a wide range of available supports including grant schemes which allow people to remain in their own homes, and the provision of specific accommodation through local authority housing and voluntary and cooperative housing. In the context of Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, my Department continues to keep the matter of financial contribution schemes, whereby private housing is part-exchanged for social rented accommodation appropriate for older people, under review.

The provision of accommodation by approved voluntary and co-operative housing bodies is an integral part of the Department's overall response to delivering on housing need for older people. Under the Capital Assistance Scheme, funding of up to 100% of the approved cost is available for the provision of permanent accommodation for groups with special housing needs, including the elderly and returning emigrants who qualify under the Safe Home programme. Approved housing bodies which provide sheltered housing under the scheme normally provide on-site support for the tenants where necessary. However, where a higher level of support is needed, this may be done with assistance from the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE introduced a scheme of dedicated funding for sheltered housing in 2006 with funding of €0.5m in 2006 and 2007. This was increased to €1.1m in 2008. It is a matter for the HSE to agree the level of funding for 2009.

In line with the commitments set out in the Government's housing policy statement and the partnership agreement, Towards 2016, a cross-departmental team on sheltered housing, chaired by my Department, has been established to develop and oversee policy in this area and to agree, as a priority, local structures and protocols for integrated management and delivery of housing and related care services. The work of this group will ultimately feed into the new National Positive Ageing Strategy, outlined in the Programme for Government.