Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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462. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government whether his Department has issued any national guidance or minimum standards regarding reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities who are unable to access the Choice Based Lettings systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48925/26]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018, which fall under the remit of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation on any of the 10 grounds set out below, subject to some exemptions. The grounds on which discrimination is outlawed by the Equal Status Acts are: gender ground; civil status ground; family status; sexual orientation; religion; age; disability; race; membership of the Traveller community and housing assistance. Further information with regard to redress where discrimination occurs is available on the website of the Workplace Relations Commission - www.workplacerelations.ie

Where a local authority, having included a provision on CBL in its allocation scheme, decides to operate a Choice Based Letting (CBL) scheme, it must implement it in accordance with Regulations 6 – 11 of the Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011 (SI No 198 of 2011). The subsequent Social Housing Allocation (Amendment) Regulations 2016 required all local authorities, if they had not already done so, to provide for Choice Based Letting (CBL) as a method of allocation in their allocation schemes by 31 December 2016 (SI No 503 of 2016).

The implementation and operation of CBL is the responsibility of the local authorities, in accordance with the relevant regulations and their own allocation schemes. Anyone who has difficulty in accessing such services should contact their local authority.