Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

The Tánaiste was the Minister for Health when the report of the inquiry into private nursing homes was published in 2020, with regard to the failures that happened in nursing homes.

The Tánaiste was the then Minister for Health who saw those very clear recommendations, which have not been implemented. We have a plethora of reports within the Department of Health post-pandemic, mainly stemming from 2020 to 2022, which have not been implemented.

There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who are looking to their future. We know there will be half a million people over the age of 80 in 25 years' time. People in my constituency have three generations in a house and will have no choice but to go into a nursing home. We can have all the home care supports they want, but they will end up going into a nursing home when they get to a particular stage of their lives. They need to know that they will get the care they need. There is a pattern between Leas Cross, the failures in 2020 and what was revealed last week. In the Labour Party's view, it is the influence of big business with regard to how they have used nursing home care in this country to generate profits and not provide adequate care on the ground. The State needs to take a leading role in that regard.

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