Mr. John Farrelly:

Yes. It is the provider, for example, the HSE on behalf of the State, that is charged with the care and welfare of people in centres. I am sorry. I am not trying to get away from the question but that is it. We do not have any power to stop someone closing an approved centre. We have no power. If someone wants to close an approved centre, they can do so quite genuinely. What we try to do as much as possible, using the powers we have, is to make as much happen to protect the care and welfare of people. We do not have many powers. I do not want to get into a row or read the boring stuff but I can read out the powers we have. They are very minimal. This is why we are asking for the Act and the regulations to be changed. I can read it out if the Senator wants and she can stop me if she thinks I am bluffing. I am not. I just want to show the actual powers we have, which are very minimal.

The law requires that the proprietor of the approved centre informs us within three months that it will close. That is all the law requires. It requires that the proprietor shall arrange, prior to closure, for the transfer to an alternative location of each voluntary resident who continues to require treatment and that it is in accordance with his or her care plan. When a resident is transferred from another location, the new provider must have received the information on that resident. The provider shall continue to provide care and treatment for mental illness or mental disorder for a period of three months from the date of serving notice of intention to cease. That is all the law says. There is nothing else. It does not give us the power to intervene in any way. We are watching. We speak to people, including residents, but we have no powers. The HSE has the power, the board of the HSE has the power and the funding Departments have the power. We do not have it. I am genuinely not trying to shift anything on this or undermine anything we hope to do.