Dublin parents 'exhausted' with fear for disabled children's future housing
Dublin City Council is forming a working group to provide housing solutions for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) who currently live with elderly parents.
Following a motion from Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney at Monday’s Housing and Social Inclusion SPC, DCC has confirmed its support of the Before We Die Campaign and intention to facilitate housing support for those with intellectual disabilities. Before We Die state they advocate for elderly parents who wonder "what will happen to my child when I am no longer here to care for them?"
The group highlights the large number of elderly carers across Ireland , as 1,500 adults with ID in Ireland live with family carers over the age of 70. Of these, 450 adults are cared for by parents aged over 80.
Cllr Cooney asked that the council work with the HSE and Department of Housing to offer support to those families worrying about the future housing of their children. She called out a “lack of urgency” on this issue and pointed out that in Budget 2023 just 43 new residential places were funded.
The motion was seconded by Labour Cllr Alison Field who understands the seriousness of the situation as a mother to non-verbal Autistic teenage son . She said that parents are "absolutely exhausted” due to the fear caused by not knowing how their children will be looked after when they are gone.
Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) Mary Hayes stated that DCC are “very supportive” of the work of Before We Die, and that they intend to pull together all the known information they have from their housing list. She said they must first determine how many people have declared at the point of assessment that they have an intellectual disability.
Ms Hayes said they will work together with the Disability Street Committee within the council to compile a report and find out the housing needs of those with ID within Dublin city. She cited the work of Prosper Fingal as a potential example to follow, as they work together with AHBs that specialise in providing housing for those with particular needs.
Before We Die outlined their aims as raising awareness of the scale of this issue to and highlighting the profiles of families living with this reality. “We are pressing the Government to meet the targets set out in its 2021 Disability Capacity Review, so that adults with intellectual disabilities can live with dignity, security, and independence,” a statement from Before We Die said.
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