Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the 2017 National Guidelines for the Assessment and Allocation Process for Social Housing Provision for People with a Disability is to assist in streamlining the management of the housing assessment and allocation process for disabled people, including those living in the community and those transitioning to the community from residential care. The Guidelines are intended to support housing authorities in carrying out assessments of housing need for disabled people within a planned and structured framework to ensure that their needs can be assessed as effectively as possible in a timely manner.

Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The allocation of local authority dwellings, including the prioritisation of certain households, is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with their allocation schemes made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Regulations. Regulation 12 of the 2011 Regulations prescribes the timescales for the processing of applications by local authorities and provides that, subject to conditions, a local authority shall deal with an application within a period of 12 weeks. Local authorities will prioritise housing needs assessments for those in greatest need and ensure that such applications are dealt with within time-frames that are significantly shorter that the statutory maximum.

The 2017 Guidelines will be revised under the Implementation Plan for the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People 2022-2027 which was launched in June 2023.