I very much welcome this very important motion and thank Deputy Quaide and the Social Democrats for it. I start by paying tribute to the Before We Die campaign, particularly Tony and Susan Murray, Alan and Vera Hughes and the thousands of other parents across the country who have had to tell their stories, lay their lives bare and tell the story of their children in order to advocate for others. There needs to be a conversation. We very much supported the theory behind decongregation when it was put in place 20 years ago. While we recognise that the theory of decongregation made absolute sense in principle, there has to be a recognition that in practice, it is failing. It is failing because of the lack of forward planning and a failure to put in place the infrastructure to ensure that those with intellectual disabilities can live a fulsome life in the community. The second key issue here concerns the theory behind the assisted decision-making Act. I very much welcome the intention to have a much greater human rights approach, but the reality is that the approach that was supposed to help the very people envisaged in that Act is actually undermining the State services that should be put in place to ensure that they live as full a life as possible. This State has failed to plan. When I talk to the section 38 and section 39 organisations, they tell me about the extent to which their hands are tied. They have properties but they can only put a certain number of rooms into them. There are other houses that are lying empty. There has been a huge issue with regard to State funding in this space, but the Government also needs to ensure that sheltered housing is put in place for those with intellectual disabilities when their parents or others in the family can no longer care for them. It is utterly unacceptable that people reach an older age and have nowhere to go but nursing homes.

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