Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

Nearly one in four school leavers with an intellectual disability and one in five young adults who have left post-leaving training courses are seeking a placement. This comprises a significant cohort of young adults who await a placement, even leaving aside the issues relating to physical and sensory disabilities about which there are also problems. Quite a number of those awaiting a placement have high dependency needs, requiring either one-to-one or two-to-one care. The high dependency places cannot be provided from existing resources, as has been the instruction by the Minister to the service providers which have taken a 3.7% cut to their overall funding. This will have an impact on the individualised services provided for these young people and marks a reversion to providing group services which are contrary to public policy.

It is not good enough for parents to be obliged to wait until the middle of July to learn whether they will have a place for their son or daughter next September. They are waiting for letters to arrive and some have gone on waiting lists, which is not acceptable. Others have been informed they have a part-placement, for either two or three days per week, while others have been informed they will be provided with a place until Christmas, but the position thereafter is unknown, which simply constitutes kicking the can down the road. Moreover, on top of all this, they are being given no choice; they are being told they can either like it or lump it. Some placements are not appropriate and it is akin to telling a leaving certificate student that, having failed to secure his or her preferred choice of a college to study agricultural science, he or she must take up a place in speech and drama studies instead. It is not acceptable that people are being forced into positions in which they must take particular places and that other young people are not even being given the opportunity to take up any placement. Additional funding will be required to address this issue and I urge the Minister to discuss it with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and address the issue as urgently as possible.

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