No more wasted lives – 17 charities including Chronic Pain Ireland issued a joint letter to The Irish Times, calling for urgent action to end the inhumane practice of placing people under 65 — living with neurodegenerative conditions, acquired brain injuries, and other complex needs — in nursing homes.
This collective statement, signed by 17 organisations in total, highlights the critical need for a dedicated national strategy that ensures appropriate supports, services, and community-based living options for people with complex needs.
Read our the full letter and calls to action below, along with the full list of charity signatories.
No More Wasted Lives
Sir,
We write as organisations representing people under 65 with neurodegenerative conditions, brain injuries, disabilities, and complex needs — along with their families, carers, and frontline workers. We speak for a growing community failed by this system.
Across Ireland, people under 65 are placed in nursing homes — never designed for their needs. Isolated among residents their parents’ or grandparents’ age, they are denied vital supports like therapy, rehabilitation, neurological care, peer networks, and meaningful activities to preserve their independence and wellbeing.
We know of a man with Cerebral Palsy whose only option was a nursing home — the same type of facility where both his parents live with dementia. Successive governments have promised to end this practice. His situation has not changed.
This is not a care pathway. It is a dead end.
The Ombudsman’s Wasted Lives Update (2024) reports 32 people under 65 admitted to nursing homes every month. Over 1,200 now live in these settings — not because of clinical need, but because there is nowhere else to go. This is a human rights issue. Everyone, including those with disabilities and complex needs, has the right to dignity and equal treatment.
We call on the Government to commit to urgently develop and enact a national strategy to end this practice. This must include:
- Regular publication of national data on admissions, their diagnoses and unmet needs;
- Development of community-based, age-appropriate supported living options;
- Clear exit pathways for those already in nursing homes;
- Guaranteed access to multidisciplinary care while people await transition.
These are not radical asks. They are the bare minimum in a country ranked among the wealthiest in the world based on GDP per capita.
We need action — now.
The above letter was signed by the following organisations
- Joe Condon, Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease Ireland
- Emer Begley, Disability Federation of Ireland
- Dr Karen Foley, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland
- Magdalen Rogers, Neurological Alliance of Ireland
- Ava Battles, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland
- Alan Breathnach, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland
- Shane O’Brien, Parkinson’s Ireland
- Maureen Sweeney, Ataxia Foundation Ireland
- Phillip Hendrick, Centre for Independent Living Galway
- Catherine Cox, Family Carers Ireland
- Marie Hickey, Dystonia Ireland
- Thomas J. Lillis, Huntington’s Disease Association of Ireland
- Richard Stables, Headway Ireland
- Christina Donnelly, Chronic Pain Ireland
- Vicky McGrath, Rare Diseases Ireland
- Theresa Anderson, Cheshire Ireland
- Fiona Bolger, Spinal Injuries Ireland
