Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor McCarron and everyone else for attending. It was interesting to hear we have the strongest data in the world, which we do not normally hear, especially when it comes to people with intellectual disabilities and people who are ageing. That is very informative. Professor McCarron mentioned future-proofing to improve life and longevity for people with intellectual disabilities. What are some examples of how that is done? I would like to get a feel for how we go about that.

Women with disabilities, it was mentioned, die on average 20 years younger than other women, while the men die 15 to 25 years younger. I thought it was interesting when Professor McCarron stated that the menopause occurs at an earlier age. I never would have thought of that. She said something like 50% of women with disabilities were unaware of the transition. How do we approach that? It seems to be an area that needs further examination. How is it monitored and how did we get to that figure?

It was stated there is no system of health checks in Ireland for persons with learning disabilities. Will Professor McCarron tell us more about that? I would have thought we would have some sort of system in place to monitor them, so I am a bit surprised by that.

Will Professor McCarron expand on why people with intellectual disabilities are particularly at risk of living in a congregated setting and the need for awareness raising with regard to their capacity to live independently and contribute to society? Community settings are far better than congregated settings and give us far better outcomes. People who engage in the community tend to have better lives and live longer. Whether they go to church, the pub, a football match or something else, it seems to prolong a lot of people’s lives. I do not know whether there are other areas that can be addressed to improve the longevity of people with disabilities. I understand people with Down's syndrome die much younger than other people. Are we making progress on extending their lives by introducing different methods and putting them into proper accommodation instead of residential accommodation? I always feel you are better off remaining in your community. Will Professor McCarron give us her thoughts on that?