Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2026
101. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether representation for the disability service providers is provided for on the disability steering groups within each County Council; in particular, whether representation is provided for section 39A providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35749/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra107. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department's plan to address the housing needs of people with an intellectual disability who are cared for at home by parents and family members aged 70 and over; the plans in place to address the housing needs of these individuals when their carers pass away or can no longer care for them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35565/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 107 together.
My 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, Disability, and Equality. 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 the actions to achieve the vision of the joint Strategy for delivering housing and related supports for disabled people to 2027 operating under the new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030.
Delivering Homes, Building Communities aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports by the end of 2030. To achieve this, the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State has been secured in 2026, with in excess of €9 billion in capital funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures.
Local authorities play a key role in the planning and provision of social housing in their areas, and decide on the number and types of dwellings to provide, based on identified need including disabled people. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, each local authority will prepare a new Housing Delivery Action Plan (HDAP), reflecting local need identified including within the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment Framework. Within this broad framework, evidence-informed local authority HDAPs provide a detailed picture of the quantum, type, size and location of social homes to be delivered by local authorities and AHBs. Learning from the first round of these plans will help inform and strengthen the next iteration of plans and set clear targets against which local authority and AHB delivery will be benchmarked to 2030. This will include minimum targets for quantity, type and size of social homes; for example, identifying housing for priority groups including disabled persons.
All local authorities have Housing and Disability Steering Groups (HDSGs) whose role is to put in place strategic plans for housing for disabled people and to monitor activity under these plans. The HDSGs are representative of disabled people as well as the Health Services Executive, the local authority and Approved Housing Bodies and are a key driver of the provision of housing for disabled people at local level. These steering groups are central to the delivery of the strategy at a local level and provide an effective forum for appropriate housing and services planning.
HDSGs facilitate integrated, aligned and timely responses to the housing needs of disabled people through an interagency collaboration framework to drive progress at the local level. Membership of the HDSGs includes local authority Director of Housing Services, HSE, Disabled Persons Organisations, organisations for disabled people including service providers (including Section 39 of the Health Act 2004 organisations), and Approved Housing Body sector (including Section 39 of the Health Act 2004 organisations).
Separately, my Department published a Design Manual for Quality Housing (the Design Manual) which is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/b3e02-design-manual-for-quality-housing/
The Design Manual is intended to guide local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, and their consultants, on the design of social housing including the internal layouts of individual social homes. The Design Manual is intended to guide local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, and their consultants, on the design of social housing including the internal layouts of individual social homes. The Design Manual includes guidance on the approach to ‘Housing for People with Disability’ (Section 5.3.2) and specific design approaches developed with the input of the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design. My Department is working with all local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to utilise this Design Manual for all new build social housing projects.
The Design Manual contains the H15 unit type, which is a design approach for a Group Home or Community Dwelling usually used in the provision of housing for people with intellectual disability. There are currently three variations on the H15 design in the Design Manual for Quality Housing.
My Department, in conjunction with local authorities and AHBs, continues to work and engage with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and the HSE within the framework of the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People. This is to ensure aligned delivery of the disability care services supports for independent living for disabled people, including those from residential settings, with the provision of independent living accommodation to meet the needs of disabled people.
