Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The points I wanted to make have been eloquently made and it is great to see consensus, particularly around the area of congregated settings. Congregated settings is a bricks and mortar issue and a money issue but, above all, it is a moral issue. People are living lives of quiet desperation because they have no choices and when we make our plans we need to think about the lives of people caught up in a system in which they do not have the choices most of the rest of us would consider ordinary. I met a man who had to battle the system in an organisation in which I worked to leave a congregated setting. All kinds of obstacles and blockages were put in his way. He was coming out of a Tiger shop having bought mugs for his flat. He is just one person but there must be many more of these people.

I support the motion and I am delighted the Minister is taking it on board. I have known the Minister for a long time and I know that when he is looking at the strategies and plans, he will remain mindful of the person at the end of the process. We need to monitor this properly in order that the plans we have get through to those individuals.