Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State referred to advocacy groups, some of which I know well and I would be very happy if they were the advocacy groups in this respect, but will they have a specific function in being advocates? The issue may not only be that the person concerned is wheelchair bound but often whether the person concerned can have soft supports, as it were, from his or her neighbours. We all know how traumatic it is to move house away from all the things with which one has got comfortable. An holistic approach is needed in terms of what the person sees as being in his or her best interests. As long as there is a function for the advocacy groups in making sure an holistic approach is taken, I can see it working. As the Minister of State will know, there is very little choice within the housing stock, whether it be small units in a supported living environment that are located downstairs as opposed to upstairs, or otherwise. She has inherited a serious problem in that respect. If people could be moved out of this sector, is there a possibility that they could be moved into units in the private rented sector in which they would cease to have the protections they have had? It is the possible loss of such safeguards that concerns me.