151. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being taken to ensure the provision of housing for people with disabilities, to ensure that Ireland complies with Article 19 of the UNCRPD, including but not limited to expansion of the capital acquisition scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18183/26]

My Department jointly published the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People (NHSDP) 2022-2027 and Implementation Plan with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality. Among the objectives of the Strategy is to promote the purposes of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by ensuring that disabled people have equal access to housing and clearer pathways to accessing support services, promoting their inclusion in the community from a housing perspective. The Strategy and Implementation Plan operate under the new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030.

Housing for disabled people is funded under the capital schemes for local authority housing through the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) and, in particular, through the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) for the Approved Housing Bodies in the provision of independent living accommodation to meet the needs of people with specific categories of needs, including disabled people.

The Second-Hand Acquisitions Programme is a policy tool available to local authorities to support households in the most challenging and precarious housing situations, helping prevent them falling into homelessness and supporting those in homelessness to exit into permanent housing. Some €373 million will be available for drawdown by local authorities and within this some €50 million has been allocated for AHB Priority Delivery Acquisitions disabled people and other priority groups.

Social housing allocations for disabled people have increased steadily over the last three years from 2022 to 2024. The number of social housing allocations for disabled people in 2022 was 1,917 tenancies, in 2023 it was 2,297, rising to 2,924 in 2024 which represents some 19% of overall housing allocations in 2024.

I will be ensuring that disabled persons continue to receive high levels of allocations through implementation of Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 and the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People and Implementation Plan.