Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for giving of their time to attend. What is HIQA's response to the concerns many people have about the policy of decongregating?

All members of the committee have received anguished correspondence from relatives of people who are being moved out of residential care. Many of those who are being moved seem to be very happy where they are and their families are very worried that their relatives may not be able to cope with another situation. They are also concerned about the upheaval involved in the move and that people might find it traumatic and detrimental to their well-being. Many of these individuals have been in residential care for a very long time and some of their family members think they may not be able to cope. We must remember that this has been their home for a very long time. Do the HIQA representatives believe that it might be legitimate for somebody to object to a move from a regulated, congregated setting to another so-called decongregated setting that is not regulated?

Of the 1,100 designated centres for people with disabilities, how many have been inspected? How many have been inspected more than once, with return visits when things have been discovered to be not in compliance? Are there many centres that have not improved on HIQA's second visit? Mr. Quinn said that services are failing to ensure that staff are appropriately vetted. Perhaps the witnesses will provide a percentage. Is it 1% or 10%? Will they give a rough estimate please?

On the issue of an oversight regime for those who spend public money, will HIQA tell the committee what countries are role models in this regard? When is the work on a framework with the HSE expected to be completed?