How is Housing with Support for Seniors funded in Ireland?
How is Housing with Support for Seniors funded in Ireland?
1.1 Introduction and Rationale
With life expectancy at 65 rising faster in Ireland than anywhere else in the European Union (EU) (CSO, YEAR). By 2041, there will be around 1.4m people in Ireland over the age of 65; of these, 440,000 will be aged 80 ormore.With such a rapidly ageing population, Ireland is facing a number of challenges in relation to providing a range of different housing options for seniors.
Current alternative housing options for older people in Ireland are limited. The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has stated that the housing options available to older people currently are too limited . Theseoptions generally fall into three categories;(HAPPI YEAR):
- Mainstream housing (not designated for a group)
- Specialised(older people’s) housing usually designated for the over 55’s
- Residential care including various forms of nursing homes
The majority of housing falls into the first and third categories with significantly less specialist housing options.Indeed, in many areas throughout the country, the options for older people are restricted to either living at home as long as possible or moving to a nursing home or other form of institutional care.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of independent living and keeping people safe, healthy and secure in their homes for as long as possible. It has highlighted how interlinked housing and health supports impact on both safety and wellbeing. This feeds into the concept of aging in place.
Ageing in place means that as people get older they can remain living in their home rather than entering residential nursing homes, even when the impacts of old age (e.g.illness or disability) affect their mobility and mental ability.
Ageing in place requires a degree of independent living ability for the older person (with both adequate levels of mental and physical ability), but gives them control over their living space and how they live, as well as ongoing connection to the community that they are used to. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will continue living in the same dwelling throughout their retirement, rather that they won’t be living in a nursing home.
Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) deliver supported housing with funding from the State. However, the approach to date has been piecemeal, without an overarching framework for housing and care and often a lack of integration with local health services. While the developments to date are exemplar models and much expertise has been developed within the housing association sector, the roll-out of these developments needs to be promoted nationwide so that as people age they have the choice to remain in their communities.
Housing with support is a particular form of specialist housing that is purpose designed and designated for older people to live independently. It is further characterised as housing that includes all or a number of special design features (universal design principles, lifetime adaptable housing etc.) and with structured visiting support services which enables individuals to age at home. It typically provides independent housing which is self-contained with its own front door.
Supportive housing schemes in Ireland are mostly social and are developed, managed and operated by either a Local Authority or by an Approved Housing Body (AHB).This type of housing bridges the gap between living independently at home and residential care (ALONE, 2018). The facilities available with housing with support may include care supports, recreation areas and an on-site warden but generally do not include nursing care. Housing with support often comprises of a number of individual apartments adapted to meet the needs of older people as they age.
- Aims of the dissertation
- Research questions
What are the Unique features of housing with support?
The key components of housing with support are:
Purpose-built, accessible building design that promotes independent living.
Lifetime adaptable homes that are of a size that supports ageing at home (ageing in place) and promotes quality of life.
Fully self-contained properties where occupants have their own front doors.
Assisted technology incorporated into the scheme design with all homes having broadband and a basic ‘telecare’ package installed, for use when and if required. Safety and security built into the design, with fob or person-controlled entry.
Communal space where tenants can mix with others, meet and make new friends, eat and socialise, access specialist activities.
An office for use by staff serving the scheme and sometimes the wider community.
Access to care and support services on site with a facility for emergency services.
The inclusion of multifunctional room(s) that allow for a range of activities, visiting hairdresser, chiropodist, doctor or nurse, for both tenants and older people in the community.
What role does housing with support play specifically in relation to the provision of housing for older people?
Research carried out for the Housing Agency and ISAX in 2016: ‘Housing for Older People – Thinking Ahead’ identified a gap in the provision of housing for older people that allows older people to live independently, but possibly with some level of additional support. The research highlighted that there was an insufficient choice of different housing options for older people to suit them as they age, and that, in particular, “new homes with a sliding scale of attendant services (Independent Living with Care) are less well catered for.”
A collaborative pilot Demonstrator Project is currently being developed in Dublin that will develop a Housing with Supports scheme with supports on site. This project is involving Dublin City Council, Circle VHA, ALONE, the HSE and the Departments of Health and Housing under the Rebuilding Ireland Programme.
How is housing with support currently funded?
At the moment this type of housing is mainly financed via the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG) through the funding mechanisms of Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF), Payment and Availability (P&A). Funding for social housing also comes via the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), a company under the auspices of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. A limited number of AHBs are awarded Certified Body Status with the HFA. In 2016 the HFA provided AHB loan approvals for the acquisition or development of new homes, including dedicated older persons’ homes.
How might housing with support be funded into the future?
- Background to the topic (in brief)
Definitions of key terms
For the purpose of this study, ‘housing with support’ will be defined “as housing with on-site support and communal facilities designed to support independent living”.
- Details of literature search (in brief)/Rationale for the boundaries of the search
Chapter 2: Introduces a review of scholarly literature on the main theme of this study, Housing with Support for Seniors in Ireland and in particular How it is funded. It will introduce the housing with support model and how it is currently funded in Ireland. It will briefly review a number of international housing with support models to explore how they are funded.
- Methodology (in brief)
Chapter 3 presents the methodology framework for the study and how the objective will be achieved. It will present the research questions used to guide the study as follows;
What are the Unique features of housing with support?
What role does housing with support play specifically in relation to the provision of housing for older people?
How is housing with support currently funded?
How might housing with support be funded into the future?
It also sets out the methodology used to acquire the necessary data to answer these questions by employing stakeholder interviews, review of available data, and available print media. It will also introduce the case study and outline the reasons for the case study selection.
- Description of the structure (in brief)
Additional materials
and this lack of choice can result in unnecessary admissions to a long-term care setting (nursing home), with its associated costs and potential reduction in quality of life.
A significant issue for the supply of housing for older persons is the changing nature of housing tenure in Ireland. More people are remaining in the rental sector and it is growing in .
Supported housing for older people has been developed by approved housing bodies (AHBs). Supported housing is part of the continuum of housing and care options for older people who need some support to live independently but do not require full residential nursing care.
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Developing older peoples’ supported housing can provide a viable alternative in many cases. This supports the concept of ‘Aging in Place’, whereby older people are supported to stay living in the place they know and are attached to, with the people they know, for as long as possible. Specific housing designed for older people and their support needs, allows older people improved choice as to how and where they will age.
Regardless of whether the mode of tenure is lifetime rental or freehold, bespoke housing for older persons plays a central role in reducing loneliness amongst its residents. As discussed above, the concept of ‘ageing in place’ is central, allowing more appropriate housing but maintaining access to social networks and other amenities.
There are a number of actions for the Government to promote ageing in place, including embedding options for older people into the planning system and tasking local authorities to work with approved housing bodies, co-operatives, private developers, and Age Friendly Ireland on the development of older-person housing.
The older adult population in Ireland grew by over nineteen percent between 2011 and 2016 (Central Statistics Office, 2017). Thus, increasing the demands for housing with support to accommodate individuals who are unable to remain in their own homes, yet can live independently with some assistance (ICSH, 2005). Although the number of older adults residing in housing with support in Ireland is unknown, as Ireland’s population continues to grey, there will be an increased number of people moving to live in this type of housing scheme.
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