Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I strongly agree that decongregation needs to be appropriate and correct and proper supports need to be put in place. I am sure the witnesses will agree with me that such points should not be excuses for implementing the policy of decongregation more slowly than it might otherwise be implemented. There is no one going into congregated settings this year. According to the report, the number of people who went into congregated settings between 2012 and 2017 was 222. Can we take it that this is a thing of the past now? Do the officials anticipate that it will happen in the future or do they think it is a thing of the past? I indicated earlier that if the 2019 rate of progress is maintained, decongregation will be achieved some time in the 2030s. If we said we aimed to get it done within five years, for argument's sake, what would need to happen? Would more finance be required? What measures would we be required to introduce to try to speed up the rate of decongregation?