Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the delay. I was trying new headphones but clearly they did not work. I thank Ms Justice Laffoy and her colleagues on the LRC for attending the meeting. I must commend them on the body of work they have done. The report, of which I received a copy yesterday, is very comprehensive and certainly is a very good starting point for what is a critical issue. Looking through the report, it is very worrying to see that 10,000 vulnerable adults are badly treated every year. It is a striking figure. I take comfort from the words of Ms Justice Laffoy that the commission is solutions-focused and wants practical and workable measures, which I think is what we all want.

I have several questions for Ms Justice Laffoy or her colleagues, whoever wishes to reply. Do they think that really and truly it should be an overall collaborative Bill embodying various Departments? We know there are challenges with financial services, and certainly older people can be blackguarded, often by relatives, when it comes to the use of their money. Should we have one comprehensive Bill that addresses all areas of adult safeguarding? Do the witnesses think there should be one agency to deal with all aspects of adult safety, similar to how Tusla provides a comprehensive service in terms of child safety? Do the witnesses envisage that the end result, and the practical and workable solution, would be an overarching agency to cover all aspects?

Where did they see international best practice? When they were preparing this body of work they looked at what was happening internationally. Is there an area or country to which we should look, and to which the committee should look, as best practice?