Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2016
243. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if the building of social housing with wheelchair access is included in the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28614/16]
View answerAddressing the needs of persons with a disability is already well established in housing policies. The commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government provides a platform to consolidate and build on the significant work undertaken to date, and will ensure that momentum is sustained in future housing policy development.
The National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011-2016, published jointly by my Department and the Department of Health in 2011, sets out the Government’s broad framework for the delivery of housing for people with disabilities through mainstream housing options. The Strategy and the accompanying implementation framework were developed as part of a coherent framework to support people with disabilities to access community-based living with maximum independence and choice.
An Implementation Monitoring Group was established to monitor and report on progress under the strategy and considerable work has been done to deliver on various initiatives to support both new supply of dedicated housing for people with disabilities and provide for the adaptation of existing stock. Under Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the current Strategy will be extended beyond its original timeframe of 2016 to continue to deliver on its aims. The Implementation Monitoring Group will scope and frame the work-plan for its extension by the end of this year.
In addition, National Guidelines for the Assessment and Allocation Process for Housing Provision for People with a Disability were developed and adopted for implementation by housing authorities with effect from November 2014. Furthermore, housing authorities have established Housing and Disability Steering Groups (HDSGs), chaired by each authority, which include representatives from the Health Services Executive and disability representative organisations. The objective of these is to achieve a coordinated and integrated approach to meeting the housing needs of people with disabilities at a local level including, among other things, addressing accessibility requirements in new social housing stock. A strategic plan for each county/city area has been drawn up by the HDSGs to develop specific local strategies to meet identified and emerging needs. These local Strategic Plans are currently being collated by the Housing Agency into a draft National Strategic Plan under the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.
The concept of Universal Design centres on achieving a built environment that can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size or disability. All new buildings, including social housing units, must comply with the legally enforceable minimum performance standards set out in the Building Regulations 1997 - 2014. In this context, the Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2010, and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document M – Access and Use (2010), which came into effect on 1 January 2012, set out the minimum statutory requirements applicable to new buildings, and to existing buildings where new works, a material alteration or a material change of use is proposed.
Part M of the Building Regulations aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design and to consider making additional provisions where practicable and appropriate.
