Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. All of us here at some stage will have to think about whether our parents will be in need of nursing home care. It is a very difficult and uncomfortable conversation for any family. It is something we would all like to think our parents will not need but this simply is not how life goes.

We put immense faith in these nursing home providers that they will show love and compassion to the people who raised us as they reach a vulnerable stage of their lives. The "RTÉ Investigates" report has shattered this faith. It showed that despite more than 200 complaints being made about one nursing home, no action was taken against it. The HIQA report showed clearly this nursing home was not only non-compliant but repeatedly non-compliant, with little evidence it was even trying to improve its standards. There were residents with bedsores and bruises. Calls for help went unanswered. There were incidents of starvation, deprivation of liberty, a lack of dignity, a lack of respect and a lack of care. How did the operator get away with it? There was not a single cent in financial fines. Where is the accountability?

How did it take an "RTÉ Investigates" report and not the concerns of family members and loved ones for action to be taken? What kind of message does this send out to families who have concerns about the care being provided to their loved ones? How upsetting and distressing these past few weeks must have been for the loved ones of residents in that nursing home is unimaginable.

The consequences of successful Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments are being laid bare. There has been a complete and utter failure by Governments to put in place robust and effective policies and regulations. There has been a push for a model of privatisation, with fast and loose regulations, and a failure to provide HIQA with the powers it needs to effectively police the sector. We have seen scandal after scandal exposing these failures and neglect but what we have not seen is action from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

There is still no adult safeguarding legislation in place. This legislation must establish an independent safeguarding authority with real powers and resources to act on individual clinical concerns. There must be mandatory reporting of concerns of abuse and neglect. HSE safeguarding teams should be brought under the remit of this authority and these teams need to be significantly expanded to do their job. Safeguarding teams and social workers must be given a legal right of entry and be permitted to investigate concerns, unannounced, at any time. Furthermore, where management and corporation leadership make decisions that lead to poor quality care and the loss of the health or life of residents in the care of the service for which they are responsible, there must be accountability.

We need to see a step change in Government policy, one that will invest in building capacity in public nursing homes and residential homes. Sinn Féin has proposed a home first approach to care, backed by a statutory home care scheme that forces the system to redirect resources to home care. The current laws are clearly not working, and for almost 20 years everyone has been telling the Government that they are not enough. It is now three weeks since the "RTÉ Investigates" report. What will it take to finally see some action from the Government?

More than 80% of nursing home beds are provided by the private sector. This is the Government's answer to everything but it is simply not working.

What we have seen on RTÉ is just the tip of the iceberg. I certainly would not like to end up in one of these nursing homes, nor would I want one of my loved ones to be treated like an animal. If I treated the animals on our farm badly, with dirty beds, starving them, etc., I would be prosecuted. Why are people treated with such neglect, calling and pleading to use the bathroom and left to lie in their own urine as punishment? Is this where our Government is at, letting big business make huge profits by mistreating our older people?

Speaking as a carer, this is not what we want. I was in the public sector. HIQA had the authority to come into our place. There were two HIQA inspectors for three residents. We cannot expect two HIQA inspectors to go into a nursing home with 90, 70 or however many patients. There have to be more.

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