Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2015
274. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to re-introduce the scheme whereby older persons could give up their home to a local authority in order to be placed in housing for the elderly; and his plans for similar schemes to free up local authority or private housing while supporting care for older persons. [5318/15]
View answerI understand the scheme referred to was introduced by a local authority to enable older people to downsize from homes that may have become too large for them to more suitable accommodation, thus potentially freeing up homes for larger families. While I have no proposals to introduce a national scheme along these lines, it is open to housing authorities, in the context of implementing the Social Housing Strategy 2020, to explore the potential of such schemes to meet differing housing needs, having regard to local circumstances.
