An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2025-02-27
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I want to raise a concerning issue this morning in respect of Sunbeam House, a residential service for people with intellectual disabilities. We saw the reports about this. There were 482 safeguarding incidents reported to the HIQA chief inspector. They were found to have staffing and management issues and poor behavioural support for the residents who had been living there. I support the comments from Inclusion Ireland that we cannot allow history to keep repeating itself through institutional practices and human rights being denied to people with disabilities. We are just three months out from a general election in which disability was one of the key issues. People with disabilities want to have their voices heard. We need further action on this. As a society, we have to face this together. In 2025, people should have a choice. They should have more control over where they live, the conditions they live in and who they live with. Anything short of that is inhumane; it is degrading treatment. The over-reliance on agency workers in these services was very concerning. They found that 12 agency staff were supporting one individual over a period. There was a lot of change in staffing, which was very disruptive to the people in question. HIQA also found that Sunbeam House did not have sufficient governance and management systems in place to protect people who were at risk of abuse. This is deeply concerning. We need swift, immediate action on it.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-02-27