Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With some of the providers, particular in the private sector, there was more of a reliance on the likes of technology to keep in touch with those people, particularly in isolated areas and so on. That has been the pattern in other jurisdictions as well. I looked at one provider that was talking about using a smart television, phone or whatever to keep in touch with the individual who is getting the care. It has machines that give the individuals medication and remind them about it. They can talk to you through the television about whether you have taken your medication today. I do not know how that would go down with some people but I imagine it would be fairly frightening at the beginning. There are others that would be able to tell you that Mary or John has not been in the kitchen or has not been in the bathroom. That is the extent of the technology. It would tell you whether Mary has gone outside the house. That could be particularly relevant if Mary has slight dementia. There is a huge role for technology in that regard.

Would HIQA have a role in respect of some of that technology? For instance, if a person was being charged for a particular type of technology that did not work, would HIQA have a role in that and would it have the ability to monitor something like that?