Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the change the Minister of State has accepted in the law. I am not exactly clear on the details, but I absolutely accept her integrity and commitment to ensuring that chemical restraint for control and purposes other than medical purposes will no longer be evident in any of our homes or institutions of care throughout the country. I support the views expressed by Deputies opposite on the use of chemical restraint in places where people with disabilities are resident. There is an appalling situation in dozens of our institutions of care in this country and it has to stop. I welcome the significant reports HIQA puts in the public domain and the demand for change they now create for service providers. I particularly welcome the Minister of State's commitment on chemical restraint. I presume it will appear when the Bill goes through the Seanad.

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