Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1571. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans and proposed outputs for public housing for older persons with supports; when such housing will be delivered; the locations in which they will be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15911/18]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1575. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of senior social housing units available per county in each of the years 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018; his plans to increase availability of such units according to demographic needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15915/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1571 and 1575 together.

My Department is committed to supporting older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence for as long as possible, as this has the best outcomes both for the individual and for society as a whole.

The Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan aims to ensure that older people have a range of housing choices available to them and there is an overall commitment to examine the potential of targeted schemes to meet differing housing needs. To this end, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, is developing policy options for supported housing/housing with care so that older people have a wider range of accommodation choices available to them, options that will enable them to choose accommodation that is appropriate and suited to their needs. A joint policy statement on Housing for Older People is being finalised and is expected to be published shortly.

The St Michael’s Estate site in Inchicore, Dublin 8 has been identified for a "housing with support" pilot project under Rebuilding Ireland, which will deliver 52 living with care homes. This project offers the opportunity for an Approved Housing Body (AHB), in this case Circle AHB, who are collaborating with Alone, to design, build and operate a unique development which is intended to set a new standard for the future of housing provision for older people and act as an exemplar for others to follow. The homes are due for completion in 2020.

The housing with support model to be provided brings together a range of services and supports - principally relating to housing, community, social and care needs. It seeks to provide an appropriate physical and supportive environment that enables older people to live full lives in their own homes within their own community. The overall aim of this project is to develop a new model of housing for older people where the key components, physical environment and care supports are provided on site, integrated into the community, and are designed with older people at the centre. The project has been approved for funding of almost €15 million under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) with a contribution of €450,000 from the Department of Health towards additional communal facilities for the residents. The Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) provides 100% funding to an AHB for the provision of accommodation for people requiring specific categories of accommodation, including older people.

Exchequer funding is also provided by my Department to local authorities for the delivery of social housing projects, including projects that incorporate housing for older people. In addition, the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability provide a range of grants for improvement works or adaptations to houses in order to facilitate the continued independent occupancy of their own homes. Funding is also provided under the Disabled Persons Grants (DPG) scheme to local authorities for adaptations and extensions to the existing social housing stock to meet the needs of older local authority tenants and people with a disability.

The provision and allocation of social housing are matters for individual local authorities in accordance with their allocation schemes. Accordingly, my Department does not collect data from local authorities on their allocations to individual categories of applicant. However, planning authorities are required, under section 94 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, to include a housing strategy in their development plans which must outline the authorities’ plans for the existing and future housing needs of the population of their areas. The strategy must include provisions to ensure that a mixture of house types and sizes is developed to reasonably match the requirements of the different categories of households including the special requirements of older people and people with disabilities. Housing strategies must also have regard to relevant policies or objectives of the Government.

In addition, I wrote to all local authorities in January this year in relation to their overall social housing delivery targets out to 2021 under Rebuilding Ireland. Specifically my letter indicated that the delivery of social housing should be consistent with housing need as identified in the annual Summary of Social Housing Assessments over the period, which will facilitate addressing this particular demographic need.