Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with the Deputy about the fear factor that many families have each year and I have met the constituents he is talking about. We have put a procedure in place to guarantee that every person who hits 18 in June will be guaranteed a place in September. The debate about people falling through the cracks has to do with issues about geographical areas and locations. It is a worry but the €12 million we will put into this in 2019 is to guarantee a place for every single young person with a disability. The Deputy is correct that those people should have such a place as a right under the UN Convention on Human Rights and that is my objective. The idea is to keep the parents of these young people informed and not to have this worry arising every May, June or July. The families should be getting letters, and some will have them already, from service providers at the moment to ensure that they are told where their young people are going in September.

I do not accept the point that it is acceptable to have any young person with a disability fall through the gaps. That is something I will fight strongly for and I will raise any particular issues the Deputy has.

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