John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude on the grant waiting lists. Marvellous things have happened in the past ten or 20 years in terms of kids being able to attend regular schools and being educated with their brothers and sisters, but most adaptation grant applications are from families that are trying to kick off family formation, pay high mortgages and rents, etc. They are living in houses that are not adapted and do not have significant capacity to be easily adapted. That is a fact of life. As such, families join the waiting list but the income criteria and so on make it virtually impossible for such families to have houses in which their children can live and operate. That is a vignette.

Regarding decongregation, there are a further 1,300-plus young people, that is, under 65 years of age, in nursing homes. The HSE has accepted that some of them should not be there. None of them should be, given that nursing homes are designed for people who, on average, are 80 years of age plus and who live just two years of their lives there. Someone aged 60, 50, 40 or 30 years could be put in one of those homes. What is being done to maximise independent living?

I thank the committee members for their work on this matter.