Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)

With a view to the clock, I will keep my questions to the point. The Minister of State spoke about urgency in expediting a commitment to an adult safeguarding Bill, but he has not given any definitive timeline for it. I put it to him that in the absence of the legislation, serious safeguarding issues are being dismissed as compliance issues, which is not reflective of what is happening in nursing homes.

In terms of the Government's commitment to introduce this Bill at some point in the future, does the Minister of State envisage it containing criminal offences of institutional neglect and reckless engagement of those living in nursing homes? Will the State commit to a conditional enforcement of care standards and transparent ownership when it comes to the use of private beds?

In his opening statement the Minister of State said the HSE has confirmed that there will be engagement with all nursing homes within the Emeis group in the coming weeks. HIQA has confirmed to us that there are 95 nursing homes under some level of restriction, but only 40-odd of them are privately owned. My colleague, Senator Ryan, has a query.