Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

Although I am disappointed that such a motion should be before the House, I welcome the opportunity to debate it. A nation should surely be judged on how it treats its elderly and how they are taken care of after a lifetime's contribution to the State, including the development of the economy. The State should not ignore the plight of the elderly when they are unable to care for themselves or when they are so frail that their families cannot care for them either. That is what is happening, however, in a small number of nursing homes where people are being mistreated.

It is only fair to say that the majority of nursing homes do an exceptionally good job. Their contribution to the elderly is above reproach and I have had personal experience of that with my own family. I have nothing but the height of praise for the nursing homes with which I have dealt. However, the television exposé on Monday night was a matter of shame. It is a shame that such treatment is tolerated despite Opposition demands that something should be done. The first such exposé was in 1984 when another television programme revealed what was occurring in a nursing home. In the interim, we seem to have learned very little.

In 2001, Deputy Gay Mitchell introduced a motion in the House highlighting difficulties and concerns about nursing homes. The Government amended that motion on the basis that it was acting, and would act further, on the matter. We find, however, that so little has been done. We need to establish immediately a properly financed inspectorate for all nursing homes, which must be independent of the Health Service Executive. I wonder if the executive is functioning because I understand it does not even have a fully appointed chief executive.

I am concerned about the inspectorate of mental hospitals but at least its annual report is published. The details of inspectors' visits to all mental hospitals are publicly available. All Deputies have a copy of the report of the chief inspector of mental hospitals, so why does the same not apply to the inspector of nursing homes? There are 423 nursing homes, yet only 80 were inspected annually, while all of them should be inspected twice a year. That identifies a lack of commitment by the Government and the Minister to ensure that proper inspections are taking place.

Working groups were established by the previous Minister, Deputy Martin, whose approach was always to set up a committee to deal with such problems. The committee established after the 1998 report, reported in 2002. The recommendations of that committee, including that the social services inspectorate should be extended to all community and residential services for older people, have been ignored. It also recommended that, at a minimum, a staff structure should be put in place in each health executive area. That structure was to have included a steering group and a dedicated health board officer in each community care area with responsibility for preventing abuse of the elderly. It also recommended that a senior case worker for each community care area should be employed by health boards, as well as a support service. Those were the minimum requirements.

Abuse is an emotive term but there is no other description for what we saw in the television programme earlier this week. Last week, I met an elderly person living in their home. They are unable to take a bath, so they have sought a shower installation. We do not know if they will get a shower or, if they do, in what year it will be installed. The Minister of State should do something about special housing aid for the elderly. If it is not applied properly it can also be a vehicle for abuse.

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