A total of €20 million in funding has been secured to enabled people with disabilities to move into more appropriate accommodation.

The money from the Department of Health is being made available to the HSE in 2016 to move people out of congregated settings, defined as a setting where ten or more people with a disability are living.

The funding will be used to relocate around 165 people currently living in 14 institutions around the country into more suitable accommodation.

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Minister of State for Disability, Finian McGrath TD, said: "I believe that it is a fundamental part of a caring society to treat people with respect and enable them to make their own choices. This funding will allow people to live and grow within communities and offer the independence and choice that is an important part of every citizen’s life. In 2008, more than 4,000 people with disabilities lived in congregated settings. By the end of 2015, this number had reduced to less than 2,800. The €20 million of capital funding represents a significant investment and commitment by Government to ensure that these citizens are given the opportunity in 2016 to live as ordinary a life as possible in suitable accommodation in the community in line with their own choices. I want to stress that the implementation of this initiative will be undertaken in full consultation with service users, their families and local communities."

(CD/MH)