Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Genuinely, as a daughter of a mother who was born in a county home, I find Deputy Durkan's contribution incredible, but I will move on.

An American writer, Pearl Buck, wrote "Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is in the way that it cares for its helpless members." It is clear from this scandal that this Government is failing that test. This scandal is very much a symptom of successive uncaring Governments, under which our older people have been disgracefully treated. As with housing, our health service and even the refugees we have coming in, our older people are treated as commodities from which to make profit.

Our older people need an ombudsman of their own who will stand up for their rights and represent them in respect of public policy. They were wrongfully charged for nursing home care. Up to 12,000 people with disabilities living in residential care had their disability allowance payments illegally taken from them. Under laws passed in 1970, older people who were eligible for medical cards were entitled to a place in a nursing home free of charge. Some of those people, however, were placed in private nursing homes as there were no spaces available in public facilities. They were charged for their care.

Conveniently for this Government, charging for care became legal in 2005. Documents exposed by whistleblower Shane Corr show that the Government undertook a legal strategy in order that it did not have to refund fully those affected. The Department of Health settled cases out of court and paid between 40% and 60% of these claims. The strategy saw the State resisting claims until the last possible opportunity. Many people were put off by the potential cost of vindicating their rights. That means that only those who had the finances to persist with a legal case would be able to get refunds. It also meant they never got a full refund. Thousands of vulnerable people who should have received payments were denied them due to a policy of secrecy put in place by successive Governments to cover up their involvement.

This was most recently affirmed in 2017 by the Ministers, Deputies Harris and McEntee, when they were in the Department of Health. When Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour were bankrupting our country to pay billions to junior bondholders, they could not find any money for families who were wrongfully charged or people with disabilities from whom they took allowances. So much for Labour's way and not Frankfurt's, but what can we expect from a Government that removed the bereavement grant? That was yet another example of the Government putting corporate interests above the interests of workers and families and older people, and it is an absolute disgrace. Successive Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael conspired to deny our older people their entitlements. The State settled 80 legal actions over refunds for nursing home fees in a four-year period between 2013 and 2016. Forty-nine settlements were negotiated by Fine Gael Deputy Colm Burke on behalf of clients of his legal practice.

We are seeing a drip-feed of information, with new revelations every couple of days. This debate should have included a question-and-answer session but that would not have helped the Government in its efforts to cover up its shady role in this scandal. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and the Committee of Public Accounts must examine the issues in detail to get to the bottom of this sordid affair.

The Government developed a legal strategy in order that it would not have to reimburse nursing home residents and their families in instances where they did not have to pay fees. Rather than putting in place a fair redress scheme to address financial hardship caused by the Government's heartless policy, as recommended by the Ombudsman in 2011, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil continued to fight the families. The Taoiseach and senior Ministers in successive Governments have questions to answer. People are angry. Does the Minister for Health want the truth? Does he want those questions to be answered?

Two weeks ago, I went to a presentation by Care Champions on nursing homes and Covid within the nursing home sector. The nursing home sector is looking for a public inquiry and I am waiting, with bated breath, for a date. I hope we get it soon.

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