Ombudsman: We will regret treatment of young people with disabilities in nursing homes 

Ger Deering Ombutsman

The Ombudsman has warned that Ireland will look back in the future at how it treated young people with disabilities stuck in nursing homes and know it was wrong.

Ger Deering has demanded the new programme for Government include improved funding for the HSE to re-locate those young people.

He said he is “deeply unhappy” with the funding allocated in Budget 2025, warning “a huge amount of work” may now have to stop.

Some 1,242 people with disabilities including people recovering from strokes aged under 65 were living in nursing homes as of May. This is due to lack of suitable alternatives in many cases.

This funding is needed to continue work arising from the Wasted Lives report in 2021, Mr Deering said.

“In fact a huge amount of that work has been done,” he said. "To now find that (the HSE) don’t have a budget to actually move the people - to take the next step – is simply unacceptable in my view. 

"What I’m learning now is that the budget for next year will be fully committed by the end of quarter one which is March.” 

He had hoped two funding streams – for relocations and improving their lives in nursing homes – would be expanded in Budget 2025.

However he now understands “there really isn’t any funding available” for improvements and only limited funding for re-locations.

“We strongly believe that the funding should be put in place and the programmes should be fully supported to support as many people as possible,” he said.

Ireland has already seen inquiries into institutional living, he pointed out.

“I’m afraid this fits into the category of something we are going to look back at and know that what was done was wrong,” he said.

“I think so. And especially now that the money should be available and we should be able to have these people living in more appropriate settings.” 

A spokeswoman for the HSE nationally said 98 people are expected to have re-located by the end of December since 2021. 

A further 154 people were given supports to improve their quality of life in nursing homes.

“The U65 programme will aim to maximise the number of new transitions possible, within the available funding,” she said.

A rehabilitation and re-location project in Cork between the HSE and Headway Ireland is one Mr Deering would like to see supported. 

“It’s a great project down there,” he said.

Deirdre Carr, HSE project officer disabilities said: “It is taking around two years to get the person out of a nursing home.” 

Housing availability is a key issue, she added: “Very few would move back to what was their home prior to being in the nursing home.” 

Lorraine Egan, HSE general manager disabilities said a multi-annual funding system is needed.

“The quickest and easiest thing for (the HSE) to do would be to get private providers and put people into them,” she said.

“What we are doing here is looking at each individual and providing them with an individual service. That takes a lot longer than one size fits all, it is always going to take longer.”