Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses from HIQA. Some people need to be reminded that a regulator is only as effective as the legislation that underpins it and as the budget provided to it. It is hard to take Government representatives here - one member for the second time - having a go for the purposes of headlines rather than taking responsibility for the lack of legislation and powers given to HIQA. It is unfortunate and brings the committee into disrepute.

In its report, HIQA has highlighted clearly the absence of statutory staffing ratios and the inadequate skill mix that exists in the nursing homes. On how many occasions has HIQA brought those concerns to a Minister? Has HIQA any official, formal response from a Minister at any stage with regard to that key issue?

My second question relates to compliance reports. What is the procedure when HIQA has annual reports identifying non-compliance for various reasons? Is there a formal procedure for the Minister to respond? Are those responses available?

What are the overall staff numbers that HIQA has? How many of those staff are devoted specifically to oversight work in nursing homes?

The witnesses have identified many shortcomings in the physical structures of various nursing homes which impact negatively on their infection control systems. Do they have a ballpark figure in relation to the kind of capital investment required to bring those nursing homes up to an acceptable modern-day standard?

My final question relates to the earlier report on the difference between persons in nursing homes who died with Covid and those who died from Covid. Has that report gone anywhere and has there been an official response to it?