Minister of State with responsibility for Disability Kathleen Lynch has said she intends to introduce independent inspections of homes for people with an intellectual disability.
It follows last night's Prime Time report, which exposed some of the inadequacies in such services, including a lack of access to behavioural therapies and an over-reliance on medication.
Some 8,000 Irish adults with intellectual disability are living in residential care – half of them in institutions.
There currently are no independent inspections of these homes.
Ms Lynch said the inspection process would be similar to that for nursing homes.
She said she had urged the Health Information and Quality Authority to begin inspections as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Irish Patients' Association has called on the Government to publish a detailed action plan to protect those living in residential care within the next few days.
It said it would also be writing to the regulators of medical, nursing and pharmacists' professions regarding the inappropriate prescribing and administration of medicines to some of the 4,000 residents.
The association's spokesman, Stephen McMahon, said the plan should include the recommendations in the draft report on Residential Settings.
That says that all owners of homes with more than ten disabled residents should move them to houses with a maximum of four residents dispersed throughout the community.
