Independent Living: Policy to
Practice
Lillian Buchanan
Dr Joanne McCarthy
Outline
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Scope & aim of the research
Methodology
Irish public policy direction
Engagement with people and their
organisations
• Policy implementation nationally
• Case study
• Recommendations
Scope & Aim
• Physical housing focus within the independent
living concept
– Only part but a basis for building life
• Portray implementation when no legal rights
based framework
• Examine Irish experience in hard times as well
as easy times
Methodology
• Probe government engagement with people
and their voluntary organisations
– Authors involvement in consultation structures
• Examine policy developments
– Documentation
• Listen to experience as reported in one
example
Policy direction
• Government endorses the legitimate
expectation of people to be able to live
independently
– E.g. Towards 2016, National Housing Strategy for
People with Disabilities
– Range of support measures announced
• But legal rights not a feature
– E.g. UNCRPD not ratified
Engagement
• Evidence of government
– listening to the diverse perspectives of people
with disabilities,
– involving them and their organisations in policy
making, planning and implementation, and
– following up to ensure good outcomes
Policy to Practice
• Are more people appropriately housed?
• Is a person-centred approach used?
• Pre and post austerity test of commitment
Policy Pre Austerity
• No strong focus on supporting people into
mainstream communities
– Capital funding for housing adaptations and for
‘special needs’ housing – but not significant share
– Housing boom produced relatively few accessible
units
– Increase in PA hours provided but not monitored
• Housing strategy for people with disabilities
– Limited cross-agency working
Capital Spending
€180,000,000.00
€160,000,000.00
€140,000,000.00
€120,000,000.00
€100,000,000.00
CAS Expenditure
Adapatation Schemes Expenditure
€80,000,000.00
€60,000,000.00
€40,000,000.00
€20,000,000.00
€0.00
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Implementation under Austerity
• Major capital and revenue spending cuts
• Housing Strategy completed October 2011
– More effort at joint implementation
• Focus on community living by HSE
– Austerity squeeze on community supports
• Continued resistance to entitlement to live
independently
Pump House on Londonbridge Road, Dublin 4
Opened by DCC in May 2009 with 24 apartments, x of which were
designed with and for their mobility-impaired tenants
Local Experience
• People with mobility impairments in Dublin
City with housing need
– Getting onto the social housing waiting list
– Waiting on that list, especially given shrinking
sources of social housing supply
– Cold shoulder for many of those not already
getting personal supports
– But examples of effective joint working for
solutions
Some recommendations
• Strategy statements and domestic legislation
insufficient
– Need operational back-up such as Strategy’s
proposed local authority-based steering
committees and development of stronger
accessible housing standards
– Need legal backup such as ratification of the UN
Convention and Housing Act amendment to
recognise right to independent living
Recommendations cont’d
• Need procedures that factor in disability from the
outset, such as systematic process to generate
more Pump House-type housing
• Need proactive voluntary disability organisations
to assist people through difficult application
processes, to monitor housing policy
implementation, and to advocate for better
outcomes
• Need to implement the National Housing
Strategy for People with Disabilities
Thank you
• For a copy of the draft paper, please email:
• lillianbuchanan@disability-federation.ie