Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

Everybody was shocked and disgusted at what we saw in the recent television programme but it is the tip of the iceberg as regards big business and what is going on with big conglomerates. I salute all the care workers and nurses in the small nursing homes in Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, Cahir, Cashel and Tipperary town.

I salute them and the work they do. I challenge HIQA. It is not fit for purpose and has not been for a long time. It is the same with Tusla, which cannot even count the children in its care who have gone missing. HIQA is totally unfit for purpose. I saw how it bullied a nursing home in Carrick-on-Suir out of business some years ago by restricting the number of beds it could have open until it would do what HIQA wanted. Why can we not tackle this with the big conglomerates? There is fun and games going on here. I would say money or something else is changing hands. It is not acceptable. We have made a commodity out of healthcare and that is totally unacceptable. We must dismantle HIQA and Tusla and set up some reasonable organisation that will look after people.

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