Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Taoiseach is right, there is some way to go. Listening to him, one would think it is somebody's else's problem, such as those in St. Michael's House. I was talking about national figures and Government responsibility. The Taoiseach will be familiar with the saying to the effect that the greatness of a nation is to be judged on the way it treats its most vulnerable. By that yardstick, this Government is appalling. I refer also to standards. Surely lessons have been learned. The former Minister, Deputy Woods, certainly knows a thing or two about failing to keep an eye on residential institutions in the past. The Leas Cross report tells us a thing or two about not having sufficient inspection in nursing homes. Where are the standards, the inspections and the yardsticks for people in residential care with an intellectual disability? The national standards for disability services report which dates back to 2004 has not been implemented. We have no uniform costs——

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