Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I have heard some great debates in this House over the years, but it is seldom one sees a very senior Minister take on an Ombudsman in the manner it happened here last night. I was not actually in the Chamber, but I was listening to it on the monitor upstairs. One would nearly believe the Minister for Health and Children was somehow or another injured or was being libelled in some manner as regards what the Ombudsman had to say. It is very difficult to understand the rationale behind this.

Everybody is now asking about the purpose of the Ombudsman's office, based on this episode, and why it was instituted many years ago. In simple terms, it was to help people obtain their rights under law and to ascertain what people were entitled to. Every public representative that represents a constituency, whether as a Member of the Oireachtas or of a local council spends a great deal of time trying to do just that but we do not have the type of complex powers the Ombudsman has. Only in a rarity of cases will a Minister come in to the House and disown the Office of the Ombudsman. One might get the impression there is a personal type of vendetta against the Ombudsman, given the manner in which the Minister spoke last night.

If there is nothing to hide why would the Minister, the Department and the HSE not stand up and be counted, and open the books? Is it not transparency we are calling for in everything we do, and is it not this very lack of transparency that has landed us where we are today, with the banks gone under and the country in a terrible state? It is because of the lack of transparency and people not coming up to the plate to do what they were supposed to and paid to do.

The same principle applies in this. What shocks me altogether is the apparent gulf between a senior Minister and the Office of the Ombudsman, which is there to protect the rights of every single citizen. That is what the debate is about. I do not know where all that leads to, as such, but one might certainly expect that the questions that were asked should be answered openly and honestly on behalf of every one of the 4 million people in this country.

The big question over the years was what a medical card entitled its owner to. Did it mean, in effect, that he or she was entitled to be a long-stay patient in a public nursing home? In the event that the nursing homes were filled or space was inadequate, what did the medical card entitle its holder to in a private nursing home? These are fundamental questions about which there was no clarity in the past. Even at this stage, people are entitled to be given the answers and to be told where they stand. There are many other issues on which I would like to comment in this vein. This issue has created havoc for families down through the years. As Deputy O'Mahony stated, people need clarity in regard to the law as it stood. For this reason, 300 people have taken actions before the courts. Many more cases may be taken to the courts in order that people can get clarity on this matter.

I was present with Deputy Reilly when the current nursing home support scheme, more commonly referred to as the fair deal legislation, was going through the House. There are many aspects of that scheme I like. However, problems are only now beginning to emerge. It has been brought to my attention that there is a lack of clarity in regard to the eligibility of people aged under 65 years. This matter needs to be clarified. Some people are deemed to be eligible while others are not. It is incumbent on the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, and the Minister to explain the position to the people concerned.

The standard of care in our public and private nursing homes is increasing year on year. The nursing homes with which I am most familiar are staffed by caring people who provide an excellent service. As I have previously stated, the Health Information and Quality Authority controls in this area are useful in terms of ensuring our nursing homes are well run. Those nursing homes which are well run have no problem with inspections, irrespective of whether they take place during the day or night. We must ensure we have in place controls, such as provided by HIQA, which will ensure every elderly person committed to a nursing home is given the best service available.

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