Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It sounds like the Deputy and I agree that everything that can be done to protect people in the nursing homes and right across the residential care sector must be done.

The Deputy will be aware that an expert nursing home group was brought together. They did a huge amount of work and produced a comprehensive report. Critically, an implementation group was put together because the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I wanted to make sure that this was not just a report that sat on a shelf. An awful lot of work has been done. HIQA and the HSE have been involved. As the Deputy is aware, the Defence Forces were at times brought in to help out as well. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I will shortly bring forward quite ground-breaking legislation on the regulation of the nursing home sector and home care more generally. I share the Deputy's view that everything that can be done must be done for people in the nursing home sector and in home care.

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