Clare County Council has committed to working with families of adults with intellectual disabilities to identify and plan for their future housing needs.
It follows calls for greater planning and support for adults living with ageing parents, as part of the national ‘Before We Die’ campaign.
At this month’s meeting of Clare County Council, the local authority was called on to provide a dedicated housing plan and identify those who may need support before an emergency arises.
A motion from Ennistymon Fianna Fáil councillor Shane Talty highlighted the need for early planning, suitable housing options and support to ensure people can remain close to their families and communities.
He says it’s vital that every agency recognises the scale of need and puts adequate plans in place.
A West Clare councillor, whose son has additional needs, says he would have welcomed the motion wholeheartedly nine years ago, but now it fills him with fear, anxiety and sadness.
Kilrush Independent councillor Ian Lynch says he and his wife will eventually become one of these parents and worries about what will happen when they’re too old to fight for services for their son.
He says it’s an issue that cannot be brushed under the carpet, and that parents need to start planning early.
Clare County Council says it’s committed to working with the ‘Before We Die’ campaign through its Housing and Disability Steering Group.
A subgroup is already working with families, the HSE and other agencies to identify housing needs and put suitable plans in place, while 11 individual properties have been allocated to adults with intellectual disabilities so far this year, with further group housing schemes in development.
Shannon councillor Tony Mulcahy’s daughter is in full-time residential care with Corlann (formerly Brothers of Charity), but he says securing that accommodation was preceded by years of worry for him and his late wife.
The Fine Gael councillor, who is a member of the Council’s Housing and Disability Steering Group, is urging families of children with additional needs to apply for accommodation when they turn 16.
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