Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In engaging with the approved housing bodies I intend to ensure the dialogue will continue. As members will know, the approved housing bodies already have facilities for people in wheelchairs and people with considerable needs. There is no intention to change this. This measure will only apply in a situation where it is demonstrable that a person cannot manage anymore in the accommodation provided. The primary advocates will probably be the person concerned in the first instance and his or her family, neighbours, etc., but there are these other bodies also and they can play a role, if necessary.

I want to be clear in setting out that this is not something we expect to happen frequently. It will arise only in those unusual cases in which the approved housing body finds itself in a situation where it simply cannot cater for the needs of a person whose needs have advanced considerably during the period of the tenancy with the body in question and where it is clearly in his or her interests to be placed where he or she will receive more appropriate care. I expect that person will have engaged for a long time with the health service before that happens, for example, to ensure there is a place for him or her to go. There is no intention that he or she will be placed in the private rented sector. This measure will apply where the person goes to a place where he or she will have a greater level of care appropriate to his or her needs, not in any other circumstances.