Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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286. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the provision of wheelchair accessible homes as part of council home building programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30559/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Disability Act 2005 places a statutory obligation on public bodies, including local authorities, to support access to services and facilities, for people with disabilities. Under the Act each Government Department is required to produce a Sectoral Plan which outlines actions to ensure that people with a disability have access to the quality public services that underpin life choices and experiences. Pursuant to Section 36(1)(d) of the Act, my Department is obliged to prepare a Sectoral Plan for people with disabilities which includes housing and accommodation for persons with disabilities.

The Sectoral Plan of my Department, which was developed in consultation with people with disabilities, outlines the steps to be taken to improve provision of services to people with a disability by the Department and Local Authorities and sets out national objectives and guidelines for access to services and built facilities. It also includes measures to be taken in the areas of the building and planning codes.

National Guidelines for the Assessment and Allocation Process for Housing Provision for People with a Disability, were developed by my Department and adopted for implementation by housing authorities with effect from November 2014. Furthermore, housing authorities have established Housing and Disability Steering Groups, which also include representatives from the Health Services Executive and disability representative organisations. The objective is to achieve a coordinated and integrated approach to meeting the housing needs of people with disabilities at a local level including, among other things, addressing accessibility requirements in new social housing stock. It should be noted that a number of Local Authorities have also developed their own Strategic Plans for Housing People with a Disability.

In addition, under my Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), funding of up to 100% of project costs may be advanced by local authorities to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to provide accommodation for people with specific categories of need, including people with disabilities.

Finally, it should be noted that all dwellings, including social housing, must comply with the Building Regulations 1997-2017, and in particular Part M, which requires dwellings to be visitable for people with disabilities.