TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN today committed to “personally” dealing with the lack of adequate housing and care options that exist for adults with disabilities in Ireland.

His commitment came after deputy leader of the Social Democrats, Cian O’Callaghan, appealed for ring-fenced funding to provide more residential care for adults with disabilities. 

Raising the issue during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil this afternoon, O’Callaghan told the Taoiseach about one elderly couple who are struggling with health issues and are now deeply concerned about their son’s future. 

“Taoiseach, these parents are not alone. Parents have no idea what will happen to their son or daughter after they die. They have no plan, because there are no options. No gradual transition, no certainty in where they’ll be housed.

“Nobody left to advocate for their son or daughter’s development,” O’Callaghan said.

He added: “Only after parents die, when there’s an emergency situation, will the State finally step in. A vulnerable person is then put up for tender to private contractors.

“What sort of a care system is this? What sort of a country treats citizens like this?”

O’Callaghan pointed to a disability capacity review carried out in 2021 that identified a need for 3,900 residential places just to catch up with pre-recession levels.

“Four years later, we still have thousands of families where elderly parents are working as full-time carers in their 70s, 80s and even their 90s. Four years of record budgets and little to show for it,” the Dublin Bay North TD said.

“When a parent dies, an adult with an intellectual disability is then stranded.

“They will lose their mum or dad, their carer, their advocate, their home and their community, all at the same time.

“This is incredibly traumatic and distressing. This is cruel,” he added.

In response, the Taoiseach said it is “unacceptable how this has evolved”.

He said the focus is on “emergency solutions all of the time” when a more holistic approach is needed. 

O’Callaghan noted that in some instances, adults with disabilities can be moved to a residential care facility “hundreds of miles” from their home after the death of their parents. 

“I mean, that’s just deeply inhumane. This cannot continue,” he said. 

“It’s an issue that I’m going to deal with personally, as Taoiseach,” Martin said.

He added that the Government will “provide the necessary funding” but stressed that one of the challenges is to get the design of the structures right. 

Elsewhere at Leaders’ Questions today, the cost of fuel and home heating oil was again high on the agenda, and was raised by both Sinn Féin and Aontú. 

Both party leaders were critical of what they deemed a failure by Government to announce adequate measures to support people with the soaring price of home heating oil as a result of the US and Israeli war on Iran.