Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentation. I know why HIQA was set up. We want quality assurance and no matter what individual doctors and other employees of the health services do, we were let down by those services, particularly in nursing homes. Is HIQA confident that the services being offered and delivered to older people in private and public nursing homes are now better and safer?

There has been some discussion recently about setting up new preschools. I previously worked in a school which provided an aftercare service, which involved giving food to the children. The first people to knock on our door were inspectors from the HSE, who checked the kitchens and so forth. Do the HIQA representatives see any role for the agency in terms of the delivery of preschool services?