Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I offer my deepest sympathy to the victims and their families. What happened should never have happened. There will be no excuses for the HSE if this disgraceful abuse happens again.

Some 59 recommendations were made by HIQA in its first report of February 2014. It proposed that staff training should be undertaken and that the staff of bungalow 3 would be required to undertake 100 hours training from the total of 423 training hours recommended. HIQA made an unannounced visit in May 2014, and found a significant improvement in the practice of the management.

I am concerned that it took a person - an undercover RTE reporter - on work experience for ten weeks to find out what was going wrong. Why did this RTE reporter go to work in Áras Attracta? Was he tipped off about a problem in Áras Attracta?

There are more than 900 designated residential centres regulated by HIQA. Are there more such incidents happening in these centres? Of the 13 staff involved in the incident in Áras Attract, has any one of these staff been disciplined before? Has any staff member come to the attention of the Garda Síochána before? Have all staff got Garda clearance? Are they properly trained? Have the staff involved apologised to the victims and their families? Has the HSE contacted all the other 908 residential centres? Reference was made to the National Implementation Task Force led by Mr. Pat Healy. How many residential centres have been contacted since the "Prime Time" programme on Áras Attracta was aired by RTE? Families are very concerned and it is very important that we get it right first time.