Now is the time to incorporate accessibility into Social Housing

One of the biggest complaints made by people with disabilities is the lack of accessible housing within their community and where to go to get housing that has been designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Therefore the recent announcement of the investment in social housing should be welcomed by all as an opportunity to incorporate accessibility.

It was announced by Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government, Alan Kelly and Minister of State for Housing, Paudie Coffey, on the 18^th February 2015 that €300m funding has been put in place for the investment in social housing. The investment is to be allocated to fund an additional 2,000 social housing units to be developed over the next three years.

This you might think is a great opportunity to ensure that the additional housing is designed with accessibility in mind and one which we cannot afford to miss. Two questions:

How are the organisations with responsibility for implementing the social housing ensuring accessibility is at the front of decision makers’ minds when developing the developing policies and strategies relating to social housing?
Are the relevant parties with responsibility for the additional housing aware of the accessibility requirements and how to incorporate this into their designs?

If you would like further information on accessible housing design requirements or how to ensure accessibility is incorporated into your housing strategy, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01-4151285 or [email protected].

O'Herlihy Access Consultancy

Now is the time to incorporate accessibility into Social Housing