Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

I listened carefully to the answer but I did not hear anything substantive about what the Taoiseach and the Government propose to do following on from those shocking revelations. It is not just about HIQA failures. This is also about ensuring older persons have a voice. There is a blueprint there. We have a Law Reform Commission report from last year about setting up an adult safeguarding framework. Safeguarding Ireland last week again called on the Government to initiate a process which would lead to the enactment of this necessary legislation which would challenge that culture of systemic ageism. We have to call it out. It is that culture that has enabled the growth of this appalling for-profit system that has facilitated the carrying out of abuse on vulnerable older citizens. All of us are hearing from older persons who are so fearful now about their own futures and those of their relatives, given the lack of safeguards in the system. Will the Government adopt the process that Safeguarding Ireland and the Law Reform Commission have so clearly set out about adult safeguarding legislation and ensuring older persons are protected?

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