People with intellectual disability ‘pay most for economic crisis’

Reductions in residential and respite care means people with intellectual disabilities are paying more than any other citizen for the economic crisis, a carer father has said.

Tony Murray’s daughter Aoife, 29, uses services provided by St Michael’s House, which cares for more than 1,600 children and adults with an intellectual disability in its 170 day and residential centres across the Dublin area.

St Michael’s has warned it will have to close a residential and a respite home, shut others for one day a month and withdraw allowances, subsidies, and transport costs to meet targets following another €1m budget cut.