Disabled adults at risk of abuse in care homes

UP TO 7,000 intellectually disabled adults are at risk of abuse because there are no independent inspections of the care homes they live in, disability groups warned yesterday.

Nor are there any inspections of care homes for disabled children, despite calls from the Irish Social Services Inspectorate (ISSI) to amend the legislation to allow them to take place.

Namhi (National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland), the coordinating body for more than 160 disability-support groups, described the absence of inspections as "a serious problem."