Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)

In response to an earlier question the Tánaiste outlined the theory of the situation but the reality is clearly different. While I welcome the provision in the legislation to provide for the inspectorate, I am disappointed it has taken so long. Even with the inadequacies of the existing system the Department indicated it was satisfied that, in the event of the health and safety of older people being at risk, the HSE inspectors currently have the authority to protect the older people involved. That was not the case in regard to Leas Cross.

In future, will the requirement for two inspections a year be met and will the inspections be sufficiently broad to provide information on quality of life issues? I concur with the recent report from the National Council on Ageing and Older People. Beds alone are insufficient, quality of life issues in nursing homes are equally important. Reporting arrangements under the current system are totally inadequate. Will it be a requirement that all reports would be automatically made public? Perhaps there should be a greater requirement for inspectors to report directly to the Oireachtas or a committee of it so as to provide transparency in everything that is done.

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