Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need a national day of mourning and remembrance to remember all who have passed away, particularly the elderly in nursing homes. Many people were very worried and concerned about how their family members died. They did not see them when they were dying and, in some cases, they did not even know they were ill. They never got to see them when they died. Their friends could not comfort or hold them. We need to address that. I welcome the extension of the bereavement support line for families of those who died in Dealgan House nursing home but we need much more proactive engagement with all those concerned, who are suffering greatly. I am sure every Member is hearing this every day. There is considerable pain and suffering and we must address it.

I want to divide my time into two periods of five minutes, if I may. Given that the non-compliance rate of nursing homes – public, private and not-for-profit - was 77% in respect of all the regulations when they were last inspected, which had gone down from the previous year, is it good enough to wait for the report that is due on changes we have to make?

A representative of HIQA stated at our most recent meeting that the non-compliance rate of nursing homes regarding infection control was 8%. I queried that rate with the authority afterwards. In fact, the true figure for non-compliance in respect of infection control in 2019 was 22%. Of the 239 nursing homes examined, 52 were non-compliant. Why are patients going to continue to be sent to nursing homes that are either not fully compliant or, particularly with regard to infection control, not compliant? If more than 100 nursing homes did not have proper infection control in 2019, how can the witnesses stand over that? What are they going to do? How are they going to ensure the homes are compliant and that patients will not be sent to them if they are not?