5% of social houses to be earmarked for residents with special needs

An Inishowen councillor has initiated a plan to ensure Donegal County Council puts in place a policy that could prove a major step in providing housing for those with additional needs.

At the recent council meeting in Lifford Cllr Paul Canning put down a motion that would guarantee the delivery of 5% of all social houses constructed in the next five years for the sole purpose of residents with special needs. He asked that these be disability friendly, contain independent living quarters for full-time carers and purpose-built sensory adaptable rooms.

Cllr Canning said the council had a 600-house programme coming up and he would like 30 of them set aside in order to build adaptable houses for a person in that town that had a disability and was on the housing list. He added if it was the case of more than one, they should construct a small community building that could accommodate at least three young people that might have autism or severe mental disabilities. There should also be space to cater for the carer in the same building, he said.

"At the moment if we are building 20 houses we tend to put 20 three or four-person families in there and the disabled person is always left on the back shelf."

He added he would like to see this policy developed so that in three to four years' time up to 30 of these houses would be available. He pointed they also had to remember that parents of disabled children were getting older and weaker while the disabled child was getting older and stronger and the parents were unable to cater to him or her.

His call was seconded by Cllr Anthony Molloy saying he believed this was the proper road to go down.

"There is a need for accessible and fully equipped accommodation locally for families with specific needs, especially where parents can no longer look after their loved ones. It makes sense," he said.

The council's director for housing, corporate and cultural services, Patsy Lafferty said the council is very committed to improving and expanding social housing provision for people with disabilities and is engaged with a range of stakeholders including the council's disability steering group so the motion is welcomed and consistent with those discussions.

"In many cases, housing accommodation alone is insufficient to improve the lives of people with a disability, and there is a requirement for an interagency approach.

"In the case of accommodation being provided specifically for persons with special needs, who may require a carer on site, the accommodation is generally designed in conjunction with the Health Service Executive and Approved Housing Bodies, who provide the associated care supports."

He added that in practical terms, it is suggested that the principle of the motion can be achieved, where the council is developing a social housing scheme on its own landbank, by reserving a portion of the overall development site for specified needs accommodation, where such a need has been identified in a particular town/village.

"This would ensure that where the interagency supports are not fully in place when a new scheme is being built, that a site or sites within the development can be reserved and the accommodation can be constructed when all associated supports have been agreed and funded by the relevant agencies," he added.,

The motion was agreed upon unanimously by the meeting.