Almost 1,300 under-65s still living in nursing homes despite damning report 

New figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show almost 1,300 people under the age of 65 living in nursing homes.

There are still almost 1,300 people under the age of 65 living in nursing homes almost a year after the Ombudsman said they are inappropriate to the cohort's needs.

According to figures released under Freedom of Information (FOI), 730 are male and 567 are female.

In May of last year, the Ombudsman Peter Tyndall published a report, called 'Wasted Lives', about the number of under-65s in nursing homes.

In the damning report, he said the nursing homes are inappropriate for those people's needs.

He said “systemic issues” and a “fractured funding model” have left hundreds of people confined to the homes, often against their wishes and said it is time for a better future for younger people in these facilities.

The figures released under FOI show there has been little change in the meantime.

They show that of the 1,297 people in this age group now living in nursing homes, 348 are in Dublin and 128 in Cork.

Small improvements

Disabilities Minister, Anne Rabbitte, says there has been a small improvement over the past year as approximately 39 individuals have transitioned from nursing homes.

"It is still very little, there is no denying it whatsoever but the progress in budget and funding that I have secured in Budget 2022 will see multiples of what was originally committed to in 2021."

One positive is that there are no longer any new admissions of under-65s into nursing homes, a practice that was still in place up to March 2021.

Ms Rabbitte said she has met with the HSE and is delighted that they have now stopped admitting under-65s into nursing homes.

"The numbers have not increased since March of last year. In fact, they have now gone sub-1,300," she said.

"The practice, definitely to my knowledge, has ceased and stopped."