A new report from the Mental Health Commission has outlined a series of human rights breaches for residents of unregulated 24-hour supervised residences
The Mental Health Commission inspected the 118 community based facilities for people with severe mental illness and intellectual disabilities.
These facilities are unregulated and the commission says that as a result, over 1,200 vulnerable people are at risk of abuse.
The report found that less than half of these residences are in good condition and almost 20% of them need urgent maintenance.
It also found that 43% of residences have shared bedrooms and of these facilities, 91% had no privacy between beds or within the bedrooms.
Residents were also unable to lock their bedroom doors in 88 per cent of residences.
Sinn Fein health Spokesperson Louise O'Reilly says immediate action needs to be taken: 'It's not enough that these issues are highlighted, they have to be followed up with concrete action and this government is spectacularely failing on mental health.
In a statement, Minister with responsibility for Mental Health, Jim Daly, says he's concerned about the findings of the report and he's committed to amending legislation to regulate these residences.
