Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 387: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will develop a strategy for accommodation in respect of people with intellectual disabilities and for people who experience mental illness. [25768/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 388: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will fully integrate supported housing for people with intellectual disabilities and for people who experience mental illness in the community, and increase support for sheltered accommodation schemes. [25769/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 387 and 388 together.

The Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, reflects the commitment in Towards 2016 Social Partnership Agreement to develop a national housing strategy for people with a disability. Work on the strategy commenced in October 2007 under the aegis of a National Advisory Group, headed by my Department and involving the Department of Health and Children, the Health Service Executive, social partners and other relevant stakeholders including the National Disability Authority.

The strategy, which will provide a broad framework to inform the future development of local authority Housing Action Plans, will support the provision of tailored housing and housing supports for people with a disability, and have particular regard to adults with significant disabilities and people who experience mental health issues. Work on the strategy is ongoing with a view to completion by end 2009.

The provision of supported housing, as set out in Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, reflects the needs of our growing and diverse population and targets supports at the particular needs of people in different phases of their lives. The Government has initiated a broad range of actions as part of a strategic response to enhance the range of housing supports and services available to older people and people with a disability. 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.

The specific accommodation needs of people with a physical or intellectual disability can be met directly through a wide range of available supports including adaptation grant schemes which allow people to remain in their own homes, and the provision of specific accommodation through the local authority housing and voluntary and co-operative housing programmes, primarily under the Capital Assistance Scheme.

This year, capital funding of €79.5m is being provided for the operation of the suite of housing adaptation grant schemes for people with a disability, and €110m for the provision, by approved housing bodies, of special needs accommodation under the Capital Assistance Scheme. The Health Service Executive also introduced a scheme of dedicated funding for sheltered housing in 2006 with funding of €0.5m in 2006 and 2007, increasing to €1.1m in 2008. It is a matter for the HSE to agree the level of funding for this purpose in 2009.