Younger people are living 'wasted lives' in nursing homes due to a lack of State support, according to the Ombudsman.
Peter Tyndall says a significant number of under 65s who have a disability are living in homes against their wishes.
He also says many believed their stay was temporary, and some with disabilities didn't give informed consent about being placed in a facility long-term.
There are more than 1,300 under 65s in nursing homes in Ireland.
Ombudsman Peter Tyndall says people want to live at home with help from the State:
'We have people who are struggling to have relationships in the context of living in a shared room in a nursing home. We had one gentleman say to us that he had been assaulted and as a consequence, he was admitted to a nursing home and that his assailant would be out of prison before he managed to get out of the nursing home'.
