Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Dowd for raising this issue and for the opportunity to respond to the House. The safety and protection of vulnerable people in the care of the State is paramount. The Government's primary concern, and my concern, is that their needs are being prioritised and addressed. More than 23,000 older people and 8,500 people with a disability are in receipt of residential care in Ireland from more than 1,600 service providers. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, is the statutory independent regulator for residential services in the disability and older persons sectors. HIQA has published standards against which it registers residential services for older people and those with a disability. The standards establish the requirements for people living in residential care to ensure high-quality, safe and effective services which promote person-centred care, uphold the rights of people, respect privacy and dignity, and protect people living in residential care from abuse and neglect. Service providers must ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to protect residents from all forms of abuse. They must have policies and procedures in place for the prevention and detection of abuse and the response to it. Many people do not know that. Furthermore, operators must notify HIQA of any allegation of abuse or serious adverse incident that occurs in a residential centre. HIQA welcomes information about designated centres for dependent persons, reviews all information about services received, and calculates it against the regulations and standards. If there is a serious risk to the health and welfare of persons accessing the service, HIQA may decide to take appropriate action.

A report by HIQA on the use of information gathered and received in the regulation of services was received by my Department this week and we are examining this very useful document. The report outlines how unsolicited information and mandated monitoring notifications are received and reviewed by an inspector of social services who assesses the related risk and decides on a regulatory response. Every piece of information received, whether unsolicited or mandated, is reviewed in such a manner. I know that some concerns were raised recently in the media about the manner in which unsolicited information received by HIQA was dealt with. HIQA reports that in 2017, a total of 820 pieces of unsolicited information were received in connection with older persons' services. In the case of 342 of those pieces of information, further information or a provider-led investigation of the issue identified was requested following initial review and risk rating of the information. Review of the unsolicited information triggered 17 targeted inspections. HIQA concluded that none of the issues raised by the unsolicited information required referral to other organisations. HIQA reports that in the case of disability services, from 2,911 pieces of unsolicited information, further investigation or provider-led investigation was requested in 140 cases, ten targeted inspections were triggered and none of the issues raised by the unsolicited information required referral to other organisations.

Where referrals are required, they take place. In the case of children’s services, 13 of the 108 pieces of unsolicited information received were signposted to Tusla’s complaints process, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children and the health and social care professionals regulator, CORU. I note that HIQA is very open and transparent regarding the information it gathers in its regulation of services and publishes an annual report.

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