Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before speaking on the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill, I refer to the referendum, given that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is present in the Chamber. I welcome the fact that the referendum is being held on Saturday. I commend the Government on doing so as it will allow younger people and those who work away from their place of residence to vote. I would like to see legislation to put that practice on a statutory footing so that it is always the case.

This referendum will throw up the debacle of the McKenna judgment. Given the universal political support we heard for the children's referendum this morning, the constitutional convention, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government or an Oireachtas committee should examine the fallout of the McKenna judgment. While 100% of the elected representatives of the people of the country may be supportive of an amendment to the Constitution, 50% of the air time must be allocated to a fringe group, which may be unrepresentative of the people and may be funded from outside the State. The Oireachtas has an obligation to examine that and ask ourselves whether it is a fair and true reflection of what those who elected Oireachtas Members expect. People who may not be citizens of the State, let alone resident in the State, may find themselves the cheerleaders for a fringe group that is against a measure in the public good, as is the referendum on children's rights. I have major concern about that and proportionality should be examined. Now is the opportunity, given the holding of the children's referendum and the fact that, according to the previous speakers, it seems the Opposition parties are supportive of the referendum in principle. That is a good thing.

The referendum, the Children First guidelines and the setting up of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs are part of a suite of initiatives taken by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to address the greatest blot on the Irish psyche since Independence. I refer to the manner in which our State failed to protect and safeguard vulnerable people and children. It is a shame on the State. Deputy Kelleher referred to this being part of the healing process in which the State must be involved. We will never manage to delete what happened to vulnerable people and children in institutions, homes, schools and hospitals but we have an obligation to do everything we can, from a legislative and social point of view, to ensure it does not happen again where possible. The transcripts of proceedings and reports on the investigations of the Roscommon case, which really highlighted the inadequacy of the system and how it fell asunder, refer to children being emaciated with lice climbing down their faces. Several people raised concerns, yet there was an absolute failure to intervene. The failure applies not only to that case, but to a litany of cases. Recently, swimming coaches, taxi drivers, bus drivers and people in ordinary professions have been brought before the courts. We see a constant dripping of court cases, media reports and legislative reports showing that the State failed these people as citizens. A previous Taoiseach issued an apology for how the State failed to protect children and vulnerable people. It is the most shameful moment in our nation's history.

Over the past number of days, the emphasis has been on children but the legislation also applies to vulnerable adults and people of reduced mental capacity, those living alone in receipt of home help, those who have carers coming into their home and people who are blind and in need of personal assistants. A huge level of trust is required and, unfortunately, I know about it. A level of trust is built up between the carer and the person receiving care, yet we do not have the proper legislative standards for the protection of old people and those with reduced mental capacity in their homes. I raised this point in the Dáil and a "Prime Time Investigates" programme investigated the matter recently. Every year, the State spends several hundred million euro on home care packages and we expect people to be cared for in their own homes. It is the best place to maintain people and they should remain there where possible. At the same time, we do not have standards, an inspection regime or legislation. We have commercial contracts between the HSE, which pays, and commercial entities and companies that provide the service.

Were it not for the interest of the public health nurses who liaise with those in receipt of home care, we would probably be in a very difficult set of circumstances in which we would have no clue whatsoever as to what is occurring in people's homes. This needs to be taken on board urgently by the Minister for Health and his Department. The Minister of State with responsibility for the disabled and elderly has flagged this as a matter that needs to be addressed by way of legislation. It is very badly needed. This State has placed a huge amount of trust in home carers caring for old people. In many cases, the elderly have no one to speak for them.

Many of the people working in home care are excellent – do not get me wrong – but if there is no set standard, inspection regime, requirement to produce certification and documentation on an ongoing basis and unannounced visits and interviews, there is potential for slippage. We saw this very clearly in regard to private nursing homes. In this regard, the inspection regime and adherence to minimum standards fell asunder absolutely. It took a "Prime Time Investigates" programme to reveal this. It was followed up by Deputy O'Dowd, who is now a Minister of State. He brought forward proposals that led to the establishment of HIQA. Many Members, including me, have many gripes about HIQA and what it expects, yet the provision of private, commercial home care packages needs to come under its auspices. The sooner, the better. People living on their own who have nobody, and to whose doors the postman may be the only visitor, are in dire need of having the State row in behind them.

Let me refer to my background and to what the previous speaker said on vetting certification. I have considerable concerns in this regard, for very good reason. In the information provided to us by the research facility, it is stated that one town council down the country suggested bringing forward a three-year certification clause. I would have a major problem with that. The reason is that, depending on circumstances, there should be fluidity. Once there is Garda vetting, this should not be the end of the line. Every two, five or ten years, for example, the employer should receive an update from the Garda Síochána. A person could be cleared today and appointed as a primary teacher tomorrow, with no further vetting. There is no follow-up. The Garda vetting bureau does not provide any further information to the employer, which is a huge anomaly.

It is not enough to say one has been involved in ten different organisations. I have been involved in many youth work organisations and have received five or six Garda vetting certificates. I have no problem with this. People just have to wait because it is preferable to having something slip through the cracks. I urge caution on the part of those who say that once one is vetted once, that should be the end of it. There should be fluidity and vetting should continue. Once one is in the system, one should be automatically re-vetted after a certain period. This cannot be too difficult. If, using an Oireachtas database, we can revert to a constituent on a given matter, we can surely have a system whereby an employer can be updated on vetting.

In general, I welcome the legislation. It is long overdue. So, too, is the children's rights referendum and the putting on a statutory footing of the Children First guidelines. I know the Minister for Justice and Equality will read the transcript of this debate because he said so yesterday. I urge him to do something for vulnerable adults, including the blind, deaf, incapacitated and those with reduced mental capacity, and all those who are currently in receipt of private home care. With the announcement of the referendum on children, there is, quite rightly, a temptation to focus on children, but this is a much broader issue.

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