Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply but I do not accept what he is saying is accurate. HIQA has sought powers from the Oireachtas and from the Department of Health and has addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on getting increased powers of inspection, particularly regarding the complaints it receives.

I acknowledge that the Minister's answer is what he has been given. However, the facts are that none of these complaints has been investigated. It is not good enough for anybody to say - I am not personalising this to the Minister - that if a person is not happy he or she can go to the Information Commissioner. Someone who believes his or her relative - who might be dying - has been abused or is being treated appallingly expects HIQA to act. My point is that HIQA wants to act. It wants to do it and is ready to do it. It assures me there is no question of staff complement. There is no issue about qualified staff to go in. However, it has to deal with the issues it finds there. It is the licensing authority for a nursing home. If following a written complaint, including by e-mail, or an oral complaint its inspectors cannot go into that home and see what happened to Johnny Murphy, how Mary Murphy died, what is happening with dementia care or what are the qualifications of staff, we will have a repeat of what happened in Leas Cross.

I appeal to the Minister to listen to what I am saying and to talk to representatives of HIQA. He should read what they said on the record at the Oireachtas committee about the power it needs to protect the elderly. That is a sacred duty for all of us. There can be no avoiding that. There can be no saying, "It's not me; go to somebody else." As I have said there have been more than 352 complaints, many of them about serious issues where people have died. I ask the Minister to reconsider this when he returns to his Department. I intend to continue to pursue this matter. If it means I have to introduce legislation, I will do that to ensure that all these complaints are dealt with immediately and urgently to protect the elderly from abuse. That is our sacred duty.

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