I support the motion because there are thousands of parents, many now in their 70s and 80s, who are worried about what will happen when they can no longer care for their child with an intellectual disability. This fear is real because, as referenced previously with regard to the HSE, there is no centrally maintained list for residential services. I know the disability capacity review estimates that Ireland needs at least 1,900 additional residential places by 2032 but this is potentially up to 4,000 if we look at restoring 2008 levels. At the moment more than 2,000 adults are living with parents aged over 70 and, as has been referenced, 500 are living with parents aged over 80. This is why upgrading the disability capacity review is urgent. We need a live database integrating disability supports, housing and people living at home who are not counted among any figures. We need proper capacity planning because we are way behind as it stands. I believe that incremental progress is possible. Some ideas are to establish a single statutory community living pathway with one referral point, have annual regional targets as well as national targets to reduce emergency placements and out-of-area placements, expand public and not-for-profit provision through multi-annual funding while stabilising existing private placements to avoid forced moves - and as Deputy Coppinger has said, it is not ideal to have the private sector running the show - and publish annual data on distance from home emergency placements and progress on individual community living plans. This model has worked elsewhere. The LSS Act in Sweden, for example, ensures that people with an intellectual disability have a legal right to community living and the CLBC model in Canada's British Columbia reports that over 90% of adults with intellectual disabilities live in community settings rather than institutional settings. Ireland can follow this path with proper targeted resourcing and recruitment. Every adult with an intellectual disability deserves to be treated with dignity, autonomy and security, and every parent wants this for their child. Finally, I want to give a very special welcome to all of the visitors from Lucan Youth Fun today.

Sentiment score: 0.23