Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the letter from Mr. Daly and Fiona Kenny, I agree with Deputy McDonald that it is regrettable that he has declined to come in on this occasion and is unavailable. However, he has agreed to come in as a witness and we should embrace that. We should have him in here. We do not know how accurate the report from a Sunday newspaper is, from which serious issues arise, but it is extremely important that he comes in..

Earlier the Chairman dealt with correspondence on nursing home contracts. On Thursday, the Ombudsman, Mr. Peter Tyndall, launched an important document on nursing home contracts prepared by Sage. It is important to support an advocacy service for vulnerable adults and older people, the issues relating to nursing home contracts and so on. There is another side relating to vulnerable people. It has come up clearly and I know we will deal with it.

We should write to Mr. Daly and get him to appear before the committee at a mutually convenient time. His presence here is extremely important. It is important that he has offered to come in and, subject to further clarification, we should do that.