Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

It is a fair question. I understand why the Deputy says what he says and why parents can feel like that. Certainly the State is not waiting for that to happen but we need to avoid that emergency and cliff-edge moment where the conversation the State has with the person with a disability only happens at a moment of crisis, personal trauma and loss. That is what we need to get much better at. The Deputy asked about what we have done regarding the disability capacity review. We have genuinely tried to ramp up significantly the investment in disability services, both capital and current. I can point to additional places.
I do think, and I say this humbly because I do not profess to speak for parents or people with disabilities about this, that there are probably mixed needs in terms of services. Some people are living in a family home and may have other family relatives. Other people manage to live reasonably independently in that home and they may need a level of in-reach support. Some people may require a residential place. It involves pulling all that together. Between the Minister and Minister of State using the structure of the national disability strategy, it is our intention to bring that forward. The Minister of State has a meeting next week. In fairness to the seriousness of the issue, I will then come back to the Deputy in writing in terms of the next steps.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05