National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

Chapter 5Housing Services5.1 The objective of housing policy, as set out in the housing policy statement, publishedin June 2011, is “to enable all households access good quality housing appropriate tohousehold circumstances and in their particular community of choice”. The general principleunderpinning housing policy is that those who can afford to provide for their housing needsshould do so either through home ownership or private rented accommodation and thattargeted supports should be available to others having regard to the nature of their need.5.2 Housing for people with disabilities can be provided through a wide variety ofhousing tenures once the relevant supports have been identified and met. Some people withdisabilities live independently and provide for their housing needs from their own resources,others live independently in mainstream housing with appropriate supports, the nature ofwhich may vary over time. Others will require more specific community basedaccommodation and support arrangements, e.g. accommodation provided by approvedhousing bodies for specific categories of need.Housing Services5.3 Local authorities provide a range of housing services to support people in accessingand maintaining appropriate housing. These include (a) housing supports, i.e. the provisionof social housing and the funding of adaptation grants; (b) tenancy supports, i.e. to assisttenants to remain in their accommodation; and (c) the management, maintenance andrefurbishment of social housing, including the undertaking of remedial works.Social Housing Support5.4 Social housing is broadly defined as accommodation provided, or arranged, byhousing authorities or approved housing bodies for households who are unable to providefor their accommodation needs from their own resources.5.5 Substantial additional investment has been made in social housing in recent years.Expenditure on social housing services increased substantially from €366 million in 1994 to€2.16 billion in 2007. More recently, reflecting the general pressure on finances, the socialhousing capital budget has been reduced by over 66% since 2008, down from €1.535 billionto just over €500 million. The landscape of housing in Ireland has changed drastically.From a period of rapid house price growth and a booming economy, Ireland hasexperienced a decline from the peak in 2007 to levels of affordability last seen in the earlyto mid 1990s. Demand for social housing has increased while the availability of resources tomeet that need has come under significant pressure.48 48