Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé ag tagairt do scéal in Galway Advertiserna seachtaine seo a bhféadfadh muide tionchar an-dearfach a bheith againn air. There is a story on the front page of this week's edition of the Galway Advertiseron which I hope we could have a positive impact. A mother has raised an issue, with the headline reading: "19th century Lunacy Act prevents my daughter from buying a house". She is the mother of a 24 year old women with Down's syndrome and claims that young people with disabilities are left out in the cold and on their own when they turn 18. She is calling for education programmes tailored to suit individual levels of ability to be put in place so as to allow young people with disabilities to develop to their full potential.

The mother discussed how she found out that her child had Down's syndrome and that, when she was born, she was given:

... a dictionary of buzzwords, such as stimulation, integration, mainstream schools and swimming! But what I didn’t realise was that when she was 18 you are on the road to nowhere. There is no plan for them, nothing to take into account their individual abilities. There is nobody waiting to receive these children afterwards.

She went on to say that her daughter, who is now 24 years of age, wanted to buy a house but was precluded from doing so because the antiquated Lunacy Act (Ireland) 1871 was still applicable and meant that "imbeciles" and "idiots" could not own property.

The Seanad had a lengthy debate on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which has since passed all Stages in the Dáil. Can we debate that Act and ascertain from the Minister when it will be commenced or whether there are further Stages that need to be passed by the Houses so that we can right this wrong, give these people their rights as citizens and allow them to live as full a life as possible? Perhaps the Leader could revert to us with an update on the Act's status and allow for a broader debate on these issues.