Mr. Justin Moran:

To reference briefly a point the Chairman made on the global nature of the convention, because it has not really come up in conversation, we will speak primarily about how the convention could apply in Ireland in the type of residential care settings mentioned. It is also important to reflect for a moment on the fact that the convention would apply globally. The majority of older people throughout the world do not have a state pension, and we are fortunate in some ways it is here. It is important to look at the benefit it would have in various contexts.

I agree with Deputy O'Dowd's comments. We cannot wait for an international convention on the rights of older people to sort out the problems happening in our nursing homes and residential settings. If and when the convention comes together, we would like it to contain provisions which enable older people to stay at home, as many do not want to be in a nursing home and many do not need to be there in the first place. We would also like it to include provisions on their right to a home, their right to choose where to age and the right to age with dignity. If and when these rights are written into a convention, and when the convention is signed and ratified by Ireland, it will make a difference to older people in nursing home and residential settings. However, that is down the line and people are in this situation now. I am happy to speak to the Deputy about this in more detail after the meeting.

We receive numerous complaints to our information line on care and situations in nursing home settings. One of the most common is about nursing home residents being charged by private nursing homes for services they do not, and in many cases cannot, use.