The Dáil will debate a Social Democrats’ motion on Wednesday (July 8) calling for the right of every adult with an intellectual disability to live as independently as possible, with the supports they need, in their own community.
Liam Quaide TD, the party’s disability spokesperson, said:
“Our motion is informed by the testimony of disabled people, families and advocates who responded to our recent ‘A Place Called Home’ survey, and by the powerful work of the Before We Die campaign.
“At the heart of this issue is the right of a person with an intellectual disability to have a secure future, to remain connected to the people and places that give their life meaning, and to have a real say in where and how they live.
“A home is not a vacant bed found when everything else has collapsed. It means choice, belonging, relationships and support; and living in your own community, close to family, friends, routines and familiar places.
“What comes through in our survey responses is heartbreaking. Many ageing parents are living with a fear no family should have to endure: that their adult son or daughter will be left unsafe, unsupported or uprooted when they are no longer able to care for them. Some parents explicitly said they hoped to outlive their own children because they have so little confidence that the State will protect them when they are gone.
“Families are left asking and waiting for years, while the person at the centre is denied a secure future. When crisis comes, the answer is too often whatever placement can be found, even if that means traumatic upheaval, severed connections and exile far from home.
“Older parents described being physically exhausted and mentally burnt out, while continuing to provide 24/7 care into their 70s or 80s because no alternative exists.
“Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises the right of disabled people to live in the community, with choices equal to others. For many adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland, that right has remained an abstract concept rather than a lived reality.
“The Before We Die campaign has highlighted the suffering and powerlessness of families who do not know where their relative will live when they can no longer provide care. In evidence to the Oireachtas, the campaign stated that, of 1,000 families surveyed, only 2% had a formal written housing plan for their adult son or daughter with an intellectual disability.
“Our own survey showed the same absence of planning. When asked if there was a clear written plan for the future, only 6% said yes, 7% weren’t sure, and 86% said no.
“When asked what words best describe how people feel about where the person with an intellectual disability will live, 32% said worried, 25% said anxious, 13% said angry, and 11% said powerless. Of those surveyed, 39% used one of the following words: afraid, terrified, scared or fear.
“Our motion calls on the Government to develop a five-year National Community Living Strategy for adults with an intellectual disability, prepared jointly by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the HSE, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies.
“That strategy must assess unmet and future need, while including regional and annual targets to reduce waiting lists, emergency placements, out-of-area placements and inappropriate placements, and ensure individual community living plans are developed with the person at the centre.
“It must also provide multi-annual funding to build public and not-for-profit community living capacity, tied to human rights standards, safeguarding, proximity to family and community, and the will and preference of the person. It should also begin the planned phasing out of reliance on for-profit residential provision, so public money is used to build secure, rights-based homes rather than deepen a crisis-stricken private model.
“For too long, the State has relied on families to hold everything together until they can no longer cope, while the person with an intellectual disability is left without a clear path to a secure home of their own.
“I am urging the Government to support our motion this week and come up with a strategy that provides a clear roadmap for planning, funding and accountability.”
July 6, 2026
Note: full text of motion here