David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Twomey. This report is one of the best reports we have seen come before this committee or any committee. The work that was done and the very clear recommendations will serve us well if they are implemented. It is a very thorough report. To be frank, it is hard to disagree with any of its recommendations. We discussed the matter with HIQA last week and we got further correspondence from it. HIQA informed us a number of times when it was before the committee that it has been campaigning, agitating, urging and calling on the Government to change the legislation, improve clinical governance and give it more powers to be able to deal with some of the issues mentioned in the report but it would seem that those calls fell on deaf ears. On foot of the report we got in June 2016, the CEO of HIQA wrote to the Chief Medical Officer seeking amendments to the Health Act. In March 2017, HIQA produced a number of documents, again recommending changes to the regulatory framework. Again in 2017, the CEO wrote to the director of the national patient safety office providing an update on suggested amendments, but that did not happen. The chairperson of HIQA wrote in 2020 to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, on the issue of adult safeguarding. It is a very long letter that charts all of the recommendations that were made by HIQA to try to put in place better structures between the HSE, the Department and HIQA and to give HIQA the powers it needs. I do not want the witnesses to comment on HIQA's role and the requests it made or the Government's failure to act on them because that is a question we can put to the HSE and Minister.

This is my final question at this point.

Are they confident that the report's recommendations will be implemented, given HIQA has been calling for many of these changes itself, over a long period, and they have not been made? Are they confident that they will be made? How important is it, from their perspective, that the clear recommendations relating to clinical governance, the powers of HIQA, and a statutory framework that will work to protect older people and make sure they have all of the choices that they need regarding their care are delivered?