Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Adult Safeguarding: Discussion

9:00 am

Mr. Pat Healy:

In terms of the disability service, which is going through a significant programme of change, the numbers have reduced since the report was published. In 2012, there was reference to more than 4,000 in congregated settings. By the end of next year, it will be just over 2,000. That is significant progress. It is important to reassure people that those who we are moving into the community under this programme will be supported. It is a question of providing the proper support and there is a huge programme of engaging with them. We have worked closely with Inclusion Ireland, independently of ourselves, as part of that to develop family fora and to build confidence in it. Learning from issues in the past, that is a really important part of it. I wish to reassure members that that is very much a part of the programme under way currently and we will continue to pay a lot of attention to it.