Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. I do not want to go over everything that others have raised but I would like to touch on the point Deputies Ó Caoláin and Kelleher mentioned about public representatives encountering difficulties in making representations on behalf of constituents. It is often perceived that we are interfering rather than being there to help. The point was well made.

On the back of that, Ms Fitzgerald stated, "the front-line staff and local manager are unaware of the inclusion of advocacy in service agreements and do not understand why an advocate has been requested or what their role is ... and therefore can be circumspect about the advocate’s involvement". That is an important point. Sometimes it is important that somebody in charge acts on behalf of people or interacts with people. It is something that Senator Colm Burke mentioned, even with regard to the different services, such as housing and grants. One is trying to trawl through the various Departments to find the person who knows about the issue and it can be difficult.

I agree with everything Mr. Tyndall stated in his presentation. A matter about which I could talk to him is where there is difficulty in making complaints or in knowing how to make them. There is also the issue of making a complaint where one is concerned it may affect the care of a loved one. That is often reflected to us.

Mr. Tyndall referred to Wales in his presentation and mentioned independent professional advocacy. Is there a difference when compared with advocacy here? When he mentions professional, what is the professional background of the advocates? Are they professionally trained? Mr. Tyndall might comment on that. If one needs an advocate, how does one access the service or how does one navigate that? How will it be funded? Will there be a funding stream guaranteed?

Mr. Taylor mentioned in his presentation the comparison with the 46A bus where one waits a long time and then a few come at once. What does the new advocacy service mean for the continuation of the SAGE advocacy service for older people?

How do we measure the quality of an advocate? We now have a diverse culture in the country. There are language barriers and people from other countries. In this regard, how do we match the advocates to the needs of the person?

It was mentioned that there are only 35 advocates nationally. How does one access the 35 advocates? Where are they based? Are there waiting lists? How long does it take to access advocacy?

Another issue that has come up in the context of the private nursing homes and the fear of making complaints is that the confidential recipient does not apply to private nursing homes. I had an issue whereby somebody was administered incorrect medication and that was reported, but the person in the private nursing home was afraid to take that complaint further because they were afraid they would be moved out of the nursing home. How does one overcome that issue?