1885. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the National Rightsizing Policy; the stakeholders that have been engaged to date; the timeline for publication of the policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59094/26]

Government is committed to increasing housing available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence. The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, includes measures which will increase delivery of housing for older people through increased delivery of social housing, increased delivery of more suitable homes and choice in private housing and increased choice to support voluntary rightsizing.

A programme of targeted stakeholder engagement was undertaken in advance of developing Delivering Homes, Building Communities, including engagement with advocacy groups and older person's representatives. Written submissions were received from across Government and from a range of external stakeholders including State agencies, the community and voluntary sector, industry and academics. These submissions were carefully considered as well as meeting with many stakeholders to hear first-hand what actions they think should be reflected in the Plan. A working group considering the implementation of these measures includes local authorities and state body delivery partners.

Delivering Homes, Building Communities also includes a commitment to develop an action plan on delivering housing for older people and this plan is currently under preparation and it is expected it will be completed in the coming months.