Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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867. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of allocating the remainder of the capital expenditure identified as necessary by the HSE to complete the process of decongregation. [18042/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Following a submission to the Department of Health in June 2015, €100m, cashflowed over 5 years, was ringfenced in the Capital Plan to provide residential accommodation in the community for residents of institutional congregated settings. The submission was in response to the Department of Health’s 2011 policy document “The Congregated Settings Report – A Time to Move On” and HIQA’s “National Standards for Residential Services with Disabilities 2013”.

Over the 5 year timeframe of the programme (2016 to 2021) it is planned to relocate 800 residents with a priority focus on those sites with the greatest non-compliance issues. The priority to-date has been on the purchase of houses in the community and the adaptation of these houses to suit the requirements of the new residents. This will continue in 2020 with an added goal of working closer with Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to avail of other Government funding through the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS).

To-date 85 houses in the community have been provided through this programme and 300 residents have been relocated from congregated settings. The construction and/or purchase and adaptation of a further 30 houses are currently being progressed.