asked the Minister for the Environment the facilities that are provided under the Housing Acts for the accommodation of the elderly; and if he is satisfied that local authorities are complying with the provisions of the Acts.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Accommodation for Elderly.
13.
Section 12 of the Housing Act, 1966, enables a housing authority to give financial assistance by way of a loan, periodic contribution or guarantee to a body providing housing accommodation for elderly persons. Section 19 of the Act provides for the payment of grants by my Department to a body providing housing accommodation for elderly persons; the local housing authority may, under section 28, pay a supplementary grant of up to the same amount in such cases.
A housing authority may erect, acquire, purchase, convert or reconstruct, lease or otherwise provide dwellings for elderly and other persons in accordance with section 56.
Housing authorities are required under section 60 to make schemes of letting priorities which have regard to the provision of adequate and suitable housing accommodation for persons, including elderly or disabled persons, who, in their opinion, are in need of but are unable to provide such accommodation from their own resources. While I am satisfied that, in general, housing authorities have availed of their statutory powers in connection with the accommodation of elderly persons in a reasonable manner, I feel that greater efforts will be required from both the private and public sectors to meet the housing needs of elderly persons. I have been reviewing the various financial and other incentives which are available to encourage this form of housing activity, and I hope to make an announcement on the subject when my examination of the situation has been completed.
As there is a grey area regarding the question of who is responsible for the allocation of houses for the elderly, can the Minister tell us whether the people responsible are the local authority or the health boards? Under the relevant Act, the local authorities would seem to be the responsible body. They employ as an agent the county medical officer and his office to draw up a list of priorities, but is it the Minister's Department or the Department of Health that ultimately are responsible for the drawing up of the lists and for the allocation of the houses? It is not possible to provide adequate housing for these people unless there is concern for the type of people to whom the houses are to be allocated.
The person responsible for the allocation of houses in any local authority area is the county manager as the chief executive. He will have reports from the health authorities regarding the circumstances of applicants and these reports will be taken into account.
In other words, the county manager allocates the houses?
That is so.