Social housing is not just a safety net - it also provides stability and greater life chances, writes Donal McManus
THE ROLE of social housing has come into greater focus recently with the publication of the recent new Housing Bill, which is to be debated in the next Dáil session.
This Bill sets in place various reforms for the assessment, delivery and management of social housing.
Social housing in Ireland, similar to other EU member states, comprises three strands of social rental housing and is provided through local authorities and housing associations in the voluntary and co-operative housing sectors.
There are over 135,000 homes now available for rent in accommodation managed by the social housing sector. Social housing comprises traditional family-type housing for rent as well as more specialist housing services provided by non-profit housing associations through various forms of sheltered and supported housing for older people, the homeless and people with disabilities. Therefore, social housing is not an homogenous concept as it caters for a wide range of the population with varying needs and expectations.
Consensus was achieved between the social partners and the Government in the last national partnership agreement, Towards 2016, that the social housing stock in Ireland was too small and there was a commitment by the Government to increase the social housing stock with 73,000 additional new social rented homes to be provided by 2012.
During the private housebuilding boom from 2000 to 2006 and under the last National Development Plan, social housing output struggled to account for over 10 per cent of total national housing output. In that period, construction industry representatives indicated that there was no surplus capacity in the industry to build additional social housing. This is certainly no longer the case.
Although the predominant form of housing tenure is home ownership in Ireland, social housing has still a key role and should be viewed as a springboard for households in improving their life chances in addition to the necessary safety net where required for vulnerable tenants.
With over 43,000 households at the last count in 2005 in need of social housing, there is a significant demand from households for social housing, which is not likely to abate in the current environment. The increase in social housing supply in 2007 should now be continued so that even in this changing economic climate, there is an opportunity to make a more permanent impact on reducing waiting lists to an appropriate level. This will ultimately reduce waiting times for accommodation to be offered to housing applicants.
Social housing can allow formerly homeless people, including those living in hostels, the opportunity to integrate themselves back into society, older people access to sheltered housing options while not having to move into nursing or residential care prematurely and people with disabilities the option to live in their local communities close to family and friends.
All these solutions have been provided in the social housing sector. The difficulty is that they are not of a sufficient scale or provided in a uniform manner throughout the whole country.
Social housing, more than any other tenure, requires integration between housing and health policies such as with the care supports for older people living in sheltered housing. Political leadership in this area of integrating housing and health policy is essential if the Government's own objective of providing housing through the life cycle approach is to be achieved.
Well-managed social housing also provides stability to many families and improves life chances. It can provide the environment for enhancing educational and employment options as well providing the access to health and childcare opportunities.
Many social housing landlords, such as non-profit housing associations, have invested in various "housing plus" activities such as educational and training activities as well as targeted social programmes and as such have moved beyond their traditional core housing management role of allocating homes, collecting rent and repairing and maintaining homes.
Social housing is not just about bricks and mortar. It is about a service provided in local communities to tenants who are ultimately consumers of that service.
Donal McManus is executive director of the Irish Council for Social Housing