Ms Barbara O'Connell:

He should get that, even in a nursing home type environment. In England they are called younger disabled units. Whatever it is called, it might be appropriate for support of the medical and nursing needs, but that does not mean people should have to listen to and interact with people who are older and confused, who might not remember their names, who cannot build relationships or socially interact, who are being fed and so on. There is no enablement potential for them and that is crucial. Some nursing homes do it and are good at it, but it is not their function.

The funding streams could be twofold. If people have medical and nursing needs in a bigger setting, they should be available, and if they can be accommodated in a community setting, that should be available. That money could be made available through the existing disability stream, but most of the money for disability is for intellectual disability at the moment and very little is allocated proportionally to physical and sensory. Many of our clients do not have a physical disability. There are existing channels it could be put into, but it is not. The fair deal scheme is locked to nursing homes so, as Dr. Foley stated, people do not have a choice and they cannot move because the fair deal scheme does not follow them.