Mr. Mervyn Taylor:

We have examples we can provide before we leave. We will provide the Senator with some good case examples all written on a postcard to help him understand them quickly. There are people who have left nursing homes who were told they could not leave or the Garda would be called. There are not that many but the fact of the matter is that the process of going into care is a grey area.

There are improvements coming, one of which, and we would ask for pressure in this regard, is the protection of liberty and places of care safeguards. There is a law that provides that nobody can be detained except by the rule of law but there is actually no law for places of care. There are Supreme Court rulings regarding a case in Cork University Hospital, CUH, a couple of years ago that have made that particularly important.

There are also placement forums, which are only now being properly developed within the HSE. There is also a tool called InterRAI, which is basically a holistic assessment, including capacity assessment, physical needs and social needs. That in a way identifies the need for care support in the community or perhaps in a congregated care setting. There is a shortage of home care supports, which is one problem. It is so easy because the money is there in the nursing home support scheme. We have still not got these mini-institutional types of approaches out of our heads. I have to say this very clearly. We have seen cases whereby people who are now effectively detained in congregated care settings could, for one third of the cost, be living in their own homes with a level of support.