Bid to set aside 5% of homes for people with disabilities 'unenforceable'

Westmeath County Council CEO Pat Gallagher has said a proposal from an Athlone councillor, to set aside 5% of all social and private housing allocations for people with disabilities, would not be possible for the local authority to enforce.

At a meeting last week, Cllr Louise Heavin sought to amend the county development plan, for 2021 to 2027, to include a provision that "5% of housing allocation provided shall be for housing individuals with physical, intellectual, or mental health disabilities."

The local Green Party councillor (pictured above) said that, since her election to the local authority last year, she had encountered people with disabilities who were "really struggling" to secure appropriate housing.

"Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) accommodation often doesn't provide for them. We don't have high-density so, if there are apartment developments, quite often they don't have lifts," she said.

"Sometimes we have inaccessible single-storey dwellings, and people with disabilities who are in very over-crowded situations as well."

She said her motion was based on a submission which Healthy Ireland had made to the county development plan, and she reiterated her belief that setting aside one in twenty houses for people with disabilities should be an achievable target.

Several of her council colleagues voiced their support for the motion, with Cllr John Shaw saying it was "complete nonsense and madness" that the council was having to adapt existing houses "all over the county" to make them suitable for people with disabilities.

"Our housing development must reflect our population. To be fair to everybody, and to treat all citizens of the State equally, this is something that we should be doing," said Cllr Denis Leonard.

Cllr Frankie Keena also spoke in support of the motion, saying he had raised concerns with An Bord Pleanala about a lack of provision for people with disabilities in the massive Castlestar housing development which was recently granted planning permission in the Coosan area of Athlone.

Responding to the councillors' comments, Mr Gallagher said having 5% of housing for people with disabilities was a "laudable" goal, but that adopting it as council policy could be problematic.

He said the way to achieve the objective sought by Cllr Heavin was to try to get building regulations changed at a national level.

"Having worked in a previous planning authority, where the members made it a condition that so many houses in the Gaeltacht should go to Irish speakers, it was impossible in practice to assess whether that condition was being met or not, and the planning authority ended up in a lot of trouble over it," said Mr Gallagher.

"I wouldn't like to envisage - in the absence of a national definition, or a national plan - how we could ensure compliance with this (5% rule) through planning condition.

"I certainly take note of the members' genuine and unanimous view as to what should happen, and I agree with you, but the way to do it is to get the building regulations changed nationally," he said.

The motion from Cllr Heavin was adjourned after being discussed at the end of the first in a series of meetings last week on the draft county development plan.

At a subsequent meeting, council management proposed including wording in the plan to the effect that, "where possible", 5% of social housing developments Westmeath would be for people with disabilities.

The matter was due to be discussed further at the latest in the series of development plan meetings this afternoon (Tuesday).