I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, for coming to the House to take this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. I have raised this Commencement matter on foot of serious and urgent representations I received over the summer, which I have attempted to resolve both at local level and with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Before making representations, I have raised repeatedly the lack of suitable disability housing for those in need in County Louth. I am dealing with a few serious cases that I intend to highlight as a representative sample, in which the quality of life of the individuals concerned is being impeded owing to the lack of suitable housing in the area to which to transfer the individuals concerned and their families. In some cases, the medical issue or disability has been exacerbated owing to living conditions or accidents have occurred on stairs. I do not raise these matters lightly or without approaching them from numerous angles with Louth County Council and various council members. There simply is no suitable housing to be found for those with a disability on the housing or transfer list.

I have made hundreds of calls, attended meetings and written letters and e-mails about specific cases in the past two years. In one case, the person concerned has provided an abundance of medical evidence proving the current living conditions are unsuitable, yet she still remains in a two-storey home. Two years later, I continue to be informed that there is no accommodation suitable for the family.

The representations I mentioned which I received over the summer are also of extreme urgency. The case involves a young family, with four young children, that received the devastating news that, due to a diagnosis of bone cancer, their four year old son must have his leg amputated on 4 November. This young child's mother also delivered a new baby last Friday. When this little boy comes home from hospital in a wheelchair with his family, he will be returning to a two-storey house that does not have a downstairs toilet or facilities for wheelchairs downstairs. I understand the child's condition is extremely painful and his parents must carry him up and down the stairs several times during the day for toileting and at bedtime. I visited the house and completely agree it is not suitable for a wheelchair. I raised this issue in July in the hope that by November something would be in place, namely, either the house would be adapted or the family would be accepted onto the transfer list to move.

Unfortunately, nothing has happened since July. I have been most disappointed with the response to the case. Once the housing transfer form was submitted, it took a number of weeks and several telephone calls for the family to be contacted. When they were contacted initially, they were told the matter would be dealt with in due course. That is okay if somebody is seeking assistance, as I understand there are priorities, but this case is a major priority. At the very least, an occupational therapist should have attended the home at the earliest opportunity, as far back as last July, to make the necessary assessment in order that when a house became available, these matters would already have been addressed. What the family is going through is life changing and very stressful. This young boy will have to use a wheelchair after his surgery and he will come home to a house that is not wheelchair accessible. There are not enough bedrooms and there is not sufficient space in the house. I am disappointed with the response in each of the cases I have raised and with the provision of disability medical housing in County Louth.

In May this year €10 million was allocated in funding for supports for people with a disability. I would not raise the cases if they were not so urgent. I ask the Minister to examine such cases and improve the provision of disability housing.

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I am sorry that neither of my colleagues could be present to respond to the matter. They wished to be present but something came up.

Social housing is a key priority for me and the Government, especially the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Minister of State at that Department, Deputy Paudie Coffey. Under the social housing strategy 2020, the total targeted provision of more than 110,000 social housing units will address the needs of the approximately 90,000 households on the housing waiting lists, while also providing scope to address further emerging needs, as in the example the Senator raised. Social housing targets have been set for each local authority, including Louth County Council, up to 2017. The targets set and the funding allocated are being invested by local authorities in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes designed to accommodate 25% of those on the housing waiting lists. The target for County Louth is 778 units, the delivery of which is supported by an allocation of €57 million.

In line with the targets set for social housing delivery, the Minister and the Minister of State announced a major social housing construction programmes in May and July this year, with an investment of €492 million covering all 31 local authorities, involving more than 2,800 housing units. It included more than €150 million for approvals under the capital assistance scheme which supports approved housing bodies in the provision of housing for homeless persons, the elderly and people with disabilities. The announcements included 75 new social housing units specifically for County Louth. Further details of targets, allocations and projects are available on the Department's website.

The assessment and allocation process for social housing support takes into account situations where a member of a household has a disability such as in the case outlined by the Senator and allows local authorities to prioritise the allocation of accommodation in these circumstances. Under section 63 of the Local Government Act 1991, a local authority is, subject to law, independent in the performance of its functions. Under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations, elected council members set down council policy on the allocation of local authority housing in its allocation scheme, including determining the order of priority for the allocation of dwellings by the authority. The chief executive of the local authority is required to make allocations, including decisions on transfers for existing local authority tenants, in accordance with the scheme. I understand Louth County Council's scheme provides that transfer applications will be considered in situations where a transfer would relieve a serious medical condition, including a physical or mental disability.

Section 22 of the 2009 Act also provides that the chief executive may disregard the order of priority given to a household under an allocation scheme where the household is being provided with social housing support arising from specified exceptional circumstances, including exceptional medical or compassionate grounds. Support is also provided for local authorities to meet the needs of tenants with a disability through funding for adaptations and extensions to social housing units. In May the Minister allocated €10 million for these supports for 2015, an increase on the figure in recent years, with almost €440,000 being made available to Louth County Council.

In summary, local authorities have a range of options available by means of which they can address cases of specific need, whether through use of the increased funding for adapting existing houses; or by making an alternative social house available where this is more suitable or acquiring a property if that is considered the most appropriate option in individual circumstances.

The Senator will appreciate that the Minister cannot directly tell the council what to do or to whom it should give a house, but a range of options are available to address cases such as the one outlined by her. One of these measures should be available and I hope the matter will be resolved shortly.

Senator Mary Moran should be very brief. She had eight minutes.

This matter must be addressed.

I know, but the order provided for five minutes and the limit is eight minutes. We are now in the tenth minute.

I am very disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, is not in the House to take this matter. It is one thing to say this or that scheme is available and that €10 million has been allocated, but the family sought assistance in July. It would not have cost anything for somebody to go out and assess the position. It is now October and the child's operation is next week, yet an occupational therapist has still not even visited the house. The Minister of State is talking about what might happen in the future.

The other case I mentioned is two and a half years in progress. I am told the person concerned is on the list and that she is a priority, yet nothing is happening. We can have all of this in writing, but if the case is not moving, the system is not working. The Minister must intervene and ask about the success rate and where houses have been allocated. I am in contact with the council every day, but we need movement. There is no point in saying something will be addressed. I ask when that will happen. The cases to which I refer cannot wait for another year or two years.

The Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, is sorry he could not be here; he would be if he could. He is aware of the case and I will report back to him. The Senator must appreciate that it is his job to set out the policy and provide funding for it. The funding has been allocated to Louth County Council. The decisions made daily on who get houses and when occupational therapists visit are ones for the local council. I will raise the Senator's concerns with the Department which is in constant liaison with the various councils. I cannot explain why an occupational therapist has not been able to visit. That is not a decision for the Minister but for the local authority.

If an answer is not forthcoming from the council, the next step is to bring the matter to the attention of the Minister.

We will not resolve the matter here.

I do not question the fact that the Senator has raised the matter, I am just saying I cannot account for a council's decision not to send an occupational therapist to visit a house. I do not understand that. I will raise the matter with the Minister.

Senator Mary Moran has made her case and the Minister of State has responded. I do not think we can do anything further today. It is a very sad case. Perhaps the Senator might talk to the county manager in her local county.

I have done that.

I thank the Senator.