Donegal County Council is being asked to implement a policy that would guarantee the delivery of 5% of all social houses constructed in the next 5 years for the sole purpose of occupancy of residents with special needs.
Cllr Paul Canning moved a motion saying such units should be tailored to the needs of the person, and include independent living quarters for full-time carers.
Welcoming the motion, Housing Director Patsy Lafferty told members the council is committed to improving and expanding social housing provision for people with disabilities, and is engaged with a number of agencies.
Cllr Canning says there are people with specific needs in every community, and their needs should be met…………
Reply –
The Council is very much committed to improving and expanding social housing provision for people with
disabilities, and is engaged with a range of stakeholders in this regard through a number of fora,
including the Housing & Disability Steering Group. The motion is welcomed and consistent with
discussions at the Steering Group. In many cases, housing accommodation alone is insufficient to
improve the lives of people with a disability, and there is a requirement for a collaborative approach.
Effective interagency co-operation is an essential mechanism in meeting the housing needs and other
required supports. In the case of accommodation being provided specifically for persons with special
needs, who may require a carer on-site, the accommodation is generally designed in conjunction with
the Health Service Executive and Approved Housing Bodies, who provide the associated care supports necessary to enable the occupants to reside in the accommodation. The Council already works with the
HSE / AHB’s and with the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, to provide suitable
accommodation throughout the county in various forms and designs, and this will continue. In practical
terms, it is suggested that the principle of the motion can be achieved, where the Council is developing a
social housing scheme on our own landbank, by reserving a portion of the overall development site for
specified needs accommodation, where such a need has been identified in a particular town/village. This
would ensure that where the interagency supports are not fully in place when a new scheme is being
built, that a site or sites within the development can be reserved and the accommodation can be
constructed when all associated supports have been agreed and funded by the relevant agencies.
