12/07/2010 - 08:08:48
An unpublished report has recommended that all institutions for people with disabilities should be closed down within the next seven years because they are in breach of residents' basic rights.
According to a report in today's Irish Times, the report recommends replacing the institutions with supported or independent placements in the community.
The report finds that the congregated settings of the institutions that currently exist leave patients separated from the community and stripped of dignity, independence and privacy.
The report, by a working group established by the HSE, is expected to be published within the coming months.