Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 March 2025
31. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the planned provision of disability-specific housing to include all schemes such as second-hand acquisitions programme, housing adaptation grants funding and new builds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12879/25]
View answerMy Department jointly published the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People (NHSDP) 2022-2027 and Implementation Plan with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Strategy and Implementation Plan may be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/60d76-national-housing-strategy-for-disabled-people-2022-2027
The Implementation Plan sets out 107 Actions to achieve the vision of the joint Strategy for delivering housing and related supports for disabled people to 2027. It supports the primary objective of the Strategy which is ‘to facilitate disabled people to live independently with the appropriate choices and control over where, how and with whom they live, promoting their inclusion in the community’. Accessibility is a key feature running through all of the Actions in the Plan each of which is assigned to one or more stakeholders.
The Strategy and Implementation Plan operate under the framework of Housing for All. A key action of Housing for All required local authorities to develop Housing Delivery Action Plans to include details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. The Plans also include details of proposed delivery of housing for disabled people. Housing Delivery Action Plans are published on the websites of the respective local authorities.
My Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, to assist eligible people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which includes the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, are funded by the Department with a contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of the grants, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of applications, is the responsibility of the local authorities.
Budget 2025 provided for an increase of €25m in the funding provision for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, with almost €100 million allocated for 2025, continuing the year on year increases since 2014.
