Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

He has not answered any question and it is typical of his governance that while he is more interested in ticking boxes and defending the inadequacy of the HSE by saying it does not give advance notice of inspections, 80 nursing homes were inspected once in 2004, when the legal requirement is two inspections per year of 480 private nursing homes. The Taoiseach's answer is disgraceful.

The Government took a case against Rostrevor Nursing Home to close it in 2004. That case has been dropped. Why was the HSE not sent into this nursing home to do what it is doing in Leas Cross? Will Leas Cross be run by the HSE while still having the benefit of patients paying €45,000 or €46,000 per year when serious repayments were made to the Revenue Commissioners by the owners? If inspections of the nursing home were carried out, how did this situation come about?

Is the Taoiseach prepared to confirm that there will be no further notice given of inspections? Is he prepared to say he will introduce legislation before the summer, which this side of the House will facilitate, to protect elderly people? The current demographics of the country mean we are facing a crisis in the next 20 years in this area. Is he prepared to deal with the case of Rostrevor Nursing Home and others in the same way as Leas Cross is being dealt with? Will he point out who gets the benefit of the profits from the patients of Leas Cross who pay €46,000 per year for systematic abuse in a number of cases that were portrayed in "Prime Time Investigates"? This is a disgrace and it concerns governance by this Government, which has failed utterly to deal with the comfort, consolation and care of our elderly citizens, of whom we should be so proud but for whom we have shown such utter and appalling neglect in this case.

This neglect is typified by the launch this morning by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children of a document entitled No One has the Right: National Conference on Elderly Abuse. This conference was held on 25 November 2004 but the Government suddenly decided to launch the document today. The Government has thrown its hat at it and the public will answer it in due course.

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