Ms Kate Killeen White:

In the public units in particular, the compliance rates themselves and the independent regulation of those units through HIQA demonstrates the improvements that have been made across the regulations in the Health Act 2007. With regard to the "RTÉ Investigates" programme that was aired earlier in the summer, needless to say, that did contain very significant findings against the private nursing homes that were included in that programme. When the programme was aired back in the early summer, that significant action was taken by the HSE and by the private nursing homes themselves to address the findings that were aired in that programme. This included welfare checks conducted in the two nursing homes of specific concern. Equally, the nursing homes themselves operated under the governance of a particular group, and the HSE had contracted short-stay beds with that group. The contracts with those were stood down as part of the process, and given the concerns that had been aired in the programme.