Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 February 2023

Committee on Public Petitions

Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2021: Office of the Ombudsman

Mr. Ger Deering:

Yes, they are, although perhaps not as quickly as we would like. They are being taken on board, however. We will be having a meeting with the HSE on the matter shortly. It is an example of how things should be done. The HSE put in place a very high-level committee with senior people on it to make this happen. Covid intervened and a number of other things happened but the HSE is moving people out of the facilities. I should stress that not everybody necessarily wants to move. The most important thing is that people who want to move out of nursing homes and are able to do so have that option. We are not too happy with the speed at which they are moving out but that is something we are willing to work with the HSE to improve.