Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Cian O'Callaghan (SD), Dublin Bay North

There is a brutal truth at the heart of our disability system. Families have been forced to say it out loud because the Government is not listening. The reality is the State is waiting for parents to die. Parents in their 70s, 80 and 90s must continue to act as full-time carers for sons or daughters with intellectual disabilities. Regardless of their age, health and ability to care for another adult, if they are still alive, the State looks the other way.
The system for housing adults with intellectual disabilities is both nonsensical and unusually cruel. When a parent passes away, only then will an emergency placement be found for their son or daughter. That placement is too often hundreds of miles away from their home. Within the space of a few weeks, a vulnerable person will lose their parent, their carer, their home, their friends, their community and any semblance of the life they once knew. No civilised society should treat its citizens like this.
There are more than 600 adults with intellectual disabilities in residential placements outside of their home county. Almost 200 are in placements that are over 100 km from their homes. There are people from Cork in Kildare, people from Waterford in Dublin and people from Kildare in Tipperary. Hundreds of vulnerable people are being ripped from their communities at the most difficult time of their lives. The Minister, Deputy Foley, recently announced that local authorities will be required to set disability housing targets, but people cannot live in targets and families cannot wait for to see if these homes will ever materialise.
The State's growing reliance on private operators is a symptom of a deeper disfunction. The Muiríosa Foundation, a progressive section 38 provider, recently told the Joint Committee on Disability Matters that it is forced to rely on the private rental market. This means that it invests tens of thousands of euro to meet HIQA standards, only to face eviction if a landlord decides to sell. At the same time, commercial companies funded by the Government can buy up properties far from a resident's home and community. This privatisation of care is of serious concern to parents. They do not want their sons or daughters outsourced for profit; they want them to be housed and cared for in their communities.
Adults with intellectual disabilities deserve to live with dignity, security and independence. Targets alone are not enough. The Before We Die campaign wants a disability housing plan that includes delivery timelines, clear reporting and multi-annual ring-fenced funding. Will the Tánaiste finally listen to these parents? Will he meet them? They have asked to meet with him but he has not arranged to meet with them yet. Will the Government introduce the ring-fenced funding that is clearly needed to provide homes for adults with intellectual disabilities?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28