COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 10, 2010

QUESTION NO.15

QUESTION: Councillor E. Walsh 2009

In light of previous questions and Motion set down by me on previous Council agenda concerning 2 constituents in the Tallaght Central constituency out of a total of 11 persons, deemed to having 'medical priority' with regard to their need for specially adapted housing:

1. Would the Council indicate what sum of money is proposed to be set aside by it from the recently announced €56,300,000.00 in the total social housing allocation given by central government to South Dublin County Council to deal with this urgent matter?

2. When the backlog of cases is expected to be cleared?

3. Would the Council ensure that it will be a priority for it to resolve this issue immediately for these cases?   

REPLY:

Every application for specially-adapted housing is unique and relates to the level of an individual's particular need and also the size and composition of the individual's family unit. In the past, approved applications were examined by a Council Architect, along with the relevant Occupational Therapist and the applicant themselves, to examine in detail the specific needs of the individual and their family, ascertain the detail of the accommodation required and explore where this can be accommodated in as short a time as possible usually within the social housing construction programme.  A report was made to the March 2010 Council meeting on this topic which stated "Due to reducing levels of capital allocation for new-build social housing, no new schemes have commenced on site since 2008.  This obviously has a considerable impact on the options available to the Council to meet the specially-adapted housing need".

The 2010 allocation for the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) is €16,110,000, reduced from €35m last year and reflecting Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government policy of switching from direct provision of social houses to acquiring units through RAS and Leasing methods. The majority of this €16m allocation will cover the costs of projects which are ongoing, and currently being constructed including the provision of three specially adapted houses in the current year. In addition there is an allocation of €625,000 for IWILS/DPG extensions which will help but is limited in the context of the number of cases on hand. Two new infill schemes consisting of a total of 16 houses should be commenced in 2010 at Lealand and Taylor's Lane. Only one specially adapted unit is scheduled for completion through these schemes.

As can be seen from the above, there is limited opportunity in the coming years to cater for the all the approved applicants for specially-adapted houses through the social housing building programme. It is anticipated that these accommodation needs will now have to be met through casual vacancies of Council housing stock, with the assistance of the disabled persons grant scheme which itself is under considerable pressure to cater for existing demand. This procurement route also presents difficulties in terms of the plot size required to accommodate ground floor sleeping accommodation which in many cases is required for individuals in need and their carers. The council will continue to investigate new ways and funding streams to assist in dealing with current and future applications.