20 care centres across the country could face closure, potentially affecting hundreds of people with intellectual disabilities.
The Sunday Business Post reports that health watchdog HIQA has issued 20 HSE-run care homes with notices to cancel or refuse applications for registration unless they make drastic improvements or immediate changes.
According to the paper, two of the residential homes said they were resolving the issues. However 20 others may face closure forcing hundreds of others to seek alternative accommodation.
The Áras Attracta care home in Swinford, Co Mayo, which was at the centre of an RTÉ Prime Time investigation, is one of these centres.
According to the paper hundreds of people may be forced to seek alternative accommodation in a matter of weeks if the improvements are not made.
Fianna Fáil's Spokesperson on Disability and Mental Health, Deputy Colm Keaveny, says that this could have been prevented and that the situation is much worse than has been reported:
