Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was in contact with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, recently about an issue involving Western Care and the allocation of spaces for adults with special needs. Deputy Murphy O'Mahony and the Chairman also raised this issue with the Minister of State, who indicated that he is focusing on it. I wish to highlight the case of families where a child or adult with particular needs relating to Down's syndrome or another condition has been under the care of their parents and the parents have become old and inform or have passed away. I feel particularly strongly about this because when the parents pass away, the vulnerable individual really has nobody to stand up for him or her apart from Members of this House or other public representatives. There is a particular case in Mayo involving a young man in his early 30s. Both his parents are deceased. My understanding is that Western Care gets a budget allocation and is to provide services in the community. In this case, it is not delivering the service because the individual is not getting residential care and no budget is available for him. The net impact is that this young man does not have a stable environment. People like him want to be under the care of Western Care and live out the rest of their lives in a stable environment. While I know this is a priority for the Minister of State, can he give me any indication as to when a space for this gentleman, about whom I have been tormenting the Minister of State since last June, will become available? I want the gentleman to whom I refer to remain anonymous.