I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion. It calls for the Government to publish a five-year national strategic community living strategy for adults with intellectual disabilities. We are in desperate need of a strategic outline project for regional planning and annual targets to reduce waiting lists. Inappropriate placements for those with intellectual disabilities are happening throughout. The private model is benefiting from what should be a duty of care to our citizens. Disabled people, families and advocacy organisations have continuously called for progress towards community inclusion and away from the institutional model of care. Home support services must be designed around individuals rather than determined by available vacancies, which is the current model in Donegal. A home represents far more than accommodation. It provides security, privacy, independence and a sense of belonging and community. Planning for the future and living arrangements should begin before a family reaches out at crisis point, as is currently happening. Ensuring people can decide where they can live into the future and who they live with should be planned well in advance. However, many families feel unable to make such arrangements in advance because of the system. Instead, they are forced to wait until a space becomes available. Greater transparency is needed. We are unaware of the numbers of people on waiting lists and out-of-area placements. The absence of a national waiting list is another issue. It remains unclear. People have nowhere to go, particularly in Donegal, where we have a defective concrete crisis. Adults with intellectual disabilities are living in homes that are crumbling and they have nowhere to go. I thank the HSE in Donegal, which recently expanded the community inclusion services in Buncrana, but the local services we need are multiples. We need this spread throughout and it is just not good enough at the moment.

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