Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of all those who were bereaved at Ballynoe nursing home. I understand that the particular outbreak the Deputy is referring to commenced on 8 January, which resulted in all 47 residents and 29 staff testing positive for Covid-19. Tragically, 21 residents died associated with that outbreak.

As the Deputy has said, Ballynoe nursing home is one of a chain of nursing homes owned by the CareChoice group. In line with the national protocol, an outbreak management team was convened by the director of public health. That team works with the Covid response team to support private nursing homes during an outbreak through the provision of a range of supports. HIQA has been engaging regularly with the provider prior to and since it was notified of the outbreak on 9 January. It is understood that the provider did not request any additional support or ask for any issues to be escalated. As the Deputy said, following the receipt of the statutory notification of 14 deaths between 7 and 9 February, HIQA carried out a risk inspection on 11 February. HIQA's inspectors review the arrangements in place for visiting, as well as records held on visiting and family engagements. The chief inspector will prepare an inspection report outlining its findings and this report will be published when the full process concludes.

It can take some time for that process to conclude and I will speak to the Minister for Health on this because I take the Deputy's point that the relatives are anxious for engagement and for answers on the issues the Deputy has raised. In particular, relatives have raised issues of limited visiting access, poor communications with staff at the nursing home and there are a number of issues that have been raised which deserve full and comprehensive answers.

More generally, in the context of Covid-19, significant supports have been provided to nursing homes by the State during the crisis. Some €90 million was provided last year through the temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS. That scheme was made available in 2020 and provides a range of supports to the nursing home sector, from PPE to infection prevention, control supports, training and financial supports. About 23 Covid response teams have been put in place in that context. Some €42 million is available for the scheme in 2021 and that will be increased if necessary.

On the broader issue, I have already said that when we emerge from Covid we should have a full evaluation or inquiry not only to learn the lessons but understand, particularly in the context of nursing homes, what happened and how we can improve the design of care for the elderly into the future. I caution that it is not as simple as the Deputy suggests.

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