I welcome the mayor of Ennis, Clare Colleran Molloy; Councillors Paul Murphy and Mary Howard; Carmel Kirby and all the Ennis 2040 team; and especially the students who have come here today from Coláiste Muire and St. Flannan’s College in Ennis to spell out their vision for Ennis 2040. It is a sad irony that, on a day when so many young people from Ennis have come to Dublin, a 44-year-old woman, the same age as the Taoiseach - still a young age - named Jennifer Hynes is languishing and wallowing in Mowlam nursing home in Ennis. She has been there since 2019. She is a fish out of water, to use her own words. She is a very smart woman. A few years ago, she came second in an international writing festival for people with disabilities. A nursing home is the wrong environment for her. She dreams of a future where she has her own house and personal assistance hours that allow her to live a fulfilled life in an age-appropriate environment.

This is in the programme for Government. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has been immensely engaging and very supportive, but I want to spotlight Jennifer Hynes’s case. She is watching today from her bed in Mowlam nursing home and I hope the Government can give her some hope there is a bright future for her.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and join him in welcoming Councillors Paul Murphy and Clare Colleran Molloy, who are here. Quite a lot of younger people, under 65, are in nursing homes around the State. It really is not an acceptable scenario. We need to find and develop solutions so that more and more can live in the community or go back to their own homes. That is happening, but not enough. It is pertinent that the Deputy should raise it today. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is doing the best she can to develop solutions for people in that scenario.