{"id":257906,"date":"2025-12-30T11:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T11:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/257906\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T11:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T11:08:09","slug":"on-the-housing-list-as-a-wheelchair-user-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/257906\/","title":{"rendered":"On the housing list as a wheelchair user \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Niamh N\u00ed Mhaoileoin (50), a wheelchair user for 14 years, being disabled<\/a> is the reason she had to move back in with her elderly parents. And it\u2019s the reason she cannot move out<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Co Kerry<\/a> woman is a single mother to 19-year-old Joshua, who has a serious heart condition. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy marriage broke down before Covid<\/a> which meant we lost our rented home. I couldn\u2019t afford the rent<\/a> on my own,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI found a smaller private-rented house which was far from ideal but I could afford it with HAP [Housing Assistance Payment]. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was wheelchair accessible in the sense that I could get in and out the front door and I could access the bathroom reasonably easily. We made it our home and thought we\u2019d be there long-term, or until we got a council house.<\/p>\n

\"NiamhNiamh N\u00ed Mhaoileoin: ‘There is a housing crisis, but it\u2019s another level of housing crisis for disabled people.’ Photograph: Valerie O\u2019Sullivan <\/p>\n

\u201cBut after three years the landlord died and the tenancy was terminated. Coming just as we were getting our lives on track, to lose our home again, it was crushing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t find a single property to rent. So, I had to ring my parents and ask if we could move in for a few weeks until we sorted our accommodation. That was three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family house, in a village outside Killarney, is less accessible than their previous home. \u201cTo get in and out I had to buy a ramp and my son has to help me. The front door has three big, steep steps so the ramp is into the patio door at the back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy bedroom is on the ground floor, but the house has narrow corridors. I need help leaving the bedroom and have to take footrests off the chair when I try to turn the chair. Doors are too narrow and I can\u2019t reach cupboards in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u201cconstant worry\u201d is that Joshua could have an \u201cepisode\u201d at any stage where he would need CPR. She is trained to administer it but \u201cwouldn\u2019t be able to get to him quickly in the house\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge for my parents, who are in their 80s, as much as it is for us,\u201d she said. \u201cThey had never lived with me with my disability.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Improved disability and youth mental health services among commitments in HSE\u2019s 2026 planOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin has been on Kerry County Council<\/a>\u2019s housing list, where it is noted she needs a wheelchair-liveable home, since 2018. \u201cI have been told a minimum of 11 years waiting,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

A wheelchair-liveable home is one where the wheelchair user can access all rooms, where countertops and cupboards are reachable and the bathroom is usable, as opposed to accessible where a wheelchair user can just visit. <\/p>\n

Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin\u2019s search for suitable private-rented accommodation has left her \u201csoul-destroyed\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage I would take any home if its accessible. I\u2019d make it work. But I get to the viewing, the landlord sees the wheelchair and they are afraid I\u2019ll damage their floors, their walls \u2013 not that these are palaces,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Some disabled people are going to libraries to stay warm, protest hearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see it in their faces. There\u2019s the sharp intake of breath, the hands go into their pockets. They suddenly need to check something. They come back. \u2018Sorry the wife\u2019s just told me it\u2019s already let.\u2019 And it\u2019s still being advertised a week later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin works as an administrator with a Killarney-based charity providing services to families of intellectually disabled people. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am a mom trying to show my son disability won\u2019t hold us back, that disability is just a different way of doing things. But the truth is my disability means I can\u2019t even put a roof over his head,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"AskedAsked if she has hope of finding a suitable home any time soon, Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin says: ‘I have to hope because we need it so badly.’ Photograph: Valerie O\u2019Sullivan <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on the brink of homelessness. There is a housing crisis, but it\u2019s another level of housing crisis for disabled people.\u201d<\/p>\n

A search on property website daft.ie in the past fortnight showed of 13,160 dwellings for sale nationally just 1.7 per cent (227) were \u201cwheelchair accessible\u201d. <\/p>\n

Of 1,773 properties available to rent, 6.5 per cent (116) were \u201cwheelchair accessible\u201d. Of the 116, two were in Co Kerry and from the photos it was clear neither was wheelchair liveable.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Society has taught us to believe that the disabled person must follow the able-bodiedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin\u2019s is one of 5,928 households for whom disability is the basis of their need for social housing \u2013 9.9 per cent of the national housing waiting list. This number is up from 5,239 in 2023. <\/p>\n

While accepting the majority of homes in Ireland were built before modern building regulations required them to be \u201cwheelchair accessible\u201d, groups like the Irish Wheelchair Association<\/a> (IWA) say even the latest building regulations are \u201cleaving disabled people behind\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent regulations only require new homes to be wheelchair accessible. That is not wheelchair liveable. It is shocking in this day and age,\u201d said Rosaleen Lally, IWA access programme manager.<\/p>\n

It was \u201castonishing\u201d, she said, that the Government\u2019s recently published housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, includes provisions for pets but lacks specific, mandated provisions for wheelchair users in new developments.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Housing plan aims to deliver 90,000 \u2018starter homes\u2019 over five yearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The IWA has called for legally binding regulations stipulating that at least 30 per cent of all new homes be built to universal design (UD) standards, meaning they can be lived in to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability.<\/p>\n

The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People, published in September, says on housing: \u201cWe will enhance the effective delivery of the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People (2022-2027).\u201d <\/p>\n

That strategy, published three years ago, makes no mention of regulations compelling developers to provide UD-standard housing or to increase supply of such housing. <\/p>\n

However, the National Standards Authority of Ireland is working on \u201cdeveloping a new national standards for universal design dwellings\u201d. <\/p>\n

Asked if she has hope of finding a suitable home any time soon, Ms N\u00ed Mhaoileoin said she has to. \u201cI have to hope because we need it so badly.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Kerry County Council said the authority had a \u201cstrategic plan for housing people with a disability 2021-2026\u2033. <\/p>\n

\u201c[The] council has committed in the plan to allocate an average of no less than 15 per cent of all available properties to households with a disability. We have consistently exceeded this target over the past number of years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This article is part of a series<\/a> highlighting the barriers faced by disabled people in Ireland to realising their rights to participate fully in education, employment, housing, transport and society. Tomorrow: Stream of rejection letters from special schools is \u2018soul destroying\u2019, says father of son with additional needs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Niamh N\u00ed Mhaoileoin (50), a wheelchair user for 14 years, being disabled is the reason she had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,64,7843,18,8752,19,17,957,9824,64626,133437,4097],"class_list":{"0":"post-257906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-covid-19","10":"tag-disability","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-housing-crisis","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-kerry","16":"tag-kerry-county-council","17":"tag-killarney","18":"tag-national-standards-authority-of-ireland-nsai","19":"tag-renting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115808207294806115","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}