Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I asked that question because, specifically in relation to older people and respite mental health services, local community services are being closed down on the basis that buildings are non-compliant, yet the people in them are being taken out of what Mr. Deering calls their home and moved into other places that are actually less compliant. Does the Ombudsman have the power to investigate that and ask why this is happening? This is personal to me because it is happening in my home town. I cannot understand how you can take somebody from a hotel and place them in a tent and tell them they are fine. What is happening is the HSE blames the Mental Health Commission for its report and it, in turn, passes it on to somebody else. The European Ombudsman said it cannot do anything about it, which brings us back to where we started. There is no line of communication. I asked the question because if this is a human rights issue, a failing of State services to find proper accommodation, why is it right to put people in a place that is less compliant than where they are now? The services are getting away with this. If I contact the Office of the Ombudsman to say this is the story - all the work has been done and unfortunately the file is very thick - does the ombudsman have the power to investigate and ask questions?