Vol. 534 No. 2
48 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he intends to take to deal with the serious inadequacies in housing for the elderly highlighted in the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Housing for the Elderly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10140/01]
While the Comptroller and Auditor General's report found, in general, that expenditure under the scheme represented good value for money when set against the potential alternative of having to provide for badly housed elderly people in residential care, it found certain shortcomings such as a need to introduce a system of formal needs analysis to identify the full extent and nature of the problem of elderly people living in sub-standard accommodation, a need to assess the value of local initiatives in order to apply the best approaches while retaining the schemes strengths such as its flexibility and the necessity to introduce strategic planning at local and national level.
A meeting of the task force on special housing aid for the elderly, which administers the scheme under the aegis of my Department, has been arranged for 20 April to consider the appropriate follow-up to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. A series of meetings are also being arranged between officials of my Department, the Department of Health and Children and the health boards. These meetings will discuss the overall operation of the scheme, identify and agree best practice, and formulate strategies and procedures to ensure that boards will be better placed to identify and respond to cases of elderly persons who are at risk due to inadequate housing conditions.
