Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Thousands of students are marching in protest from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dáil today to protest the Government's failure to tackle student accommodation crisis and the soaring cost of going to college. Students tell us that they are drowning in costs as they struggle to afford third-level education. So many cannot find an affordable home near to their college, so they couch surf, commute exceptionally long distances or, if they are lucky, they are forced to pay rip-off rent. This is having a terrible impact on their education and their mental health and general well-being. Students feel that the accommodation crisis is robbing them of a future in Ireland. Students have been telling their stories to their union, the Union of Students in Ireland, USI. One student said;

It impacts my studies. I have to choose between buying my dinner or paying my rent.

Another said:

I am in a constant stress of how I will make enough to pay the bills. I haven't had a good sleep in two months. I'm constantly waking up unable to focus and feeling helpless at times.

Another said:

I commute. I have lost out on my social life and I'm completely burnt out. Another three years left on my course and it feels like torture.

The accommodation crisis faced by students is just one symptom of Government's wider failure in housing. An entire generation is locked out of affordable housing and homeownership, of opportunity and of a decent future. On the watch of this Government, any semblance affordability has been torn to shreds. Record rents keep rising and house prices are sky-high. The lack of affordable housing means we have students choosing between financial hardship or dropping out. Thousands of young adults find themselves stuck living at home with their parents, and many finally decide just to leave Ireland to have their chance at a better future. They get their qualifications having done the training and then they board planes to Perth, Toronto or Boston.

It is, therefore, little wonder that the crisis has become a barrier to employers hiring workers, schools hiring teachers and hospitals hiring nurses and doctors. What has the Government response been? No urgency, no pace, no ambition. The Government's affordable housing delivery for the first six months of this year is paltry. It is a drop in the ocean of what is required to turn the tide. Níl sa ghéarchéim lóistín mhac léinn ach léiriú ar an bhfadhb go bhfuil ag teipeadh ar an Rialtas arís agus arís eile ó thaobh tithíochta. Tá gá le méadú ollmhór ar sholáthar tithe ar phraghas réasúnta. Teastaíonn Rialtas ó oibrithe, ó theaghlaigh agus ó mhic léinn a chuirfidh deireadh leis an ngéarchéim tithíochta.

Taoiseach, your 12 years in government is a story of Fine Gael failure in housing. From what the Government has been leaking so far, it appears that it will continue that record of failure in next week's budget. The truth is there needs to be a radical change of direction in housing. No more excuses and no more skirting around the edges of the problem. It is time to make housing affordable again for workers, families and those students who are protesting today. Next week's budget must represent that change. That means providing investment necessary for a massive scaling up in the delivery of affordable housing. Will the Taoiseach commit to that essential funding, and a huge increase in funding, in next week's budget? Can he specifically tell me what action he proposes to take to address the student accommodation crisis?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. I am very much aware of the student protest that is taking place today. In Ireland in 2023, there are more people attending third-level and higher education than ever was the case in the past. People attending higher education and further education come from more diverse and more non-traditional backgrounds than ever was the case in the past. Students graduating today are more likely to get employment immediately after graduation than ever was the case in the past. They are good things that we should celebrate and progress that the Deputy should acknowledge.

When it comes to the next budget, I can guarantee that students will not be forgotten. They were not forgotten in the last budget. In the last budget, we reduced college fees and increased the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. We made it easier for people to get the SUSI grant. We extended the rent credit to students and their parents if their parents were paying the rent. That was worth more than €1,000 per year to most students. I acknowledge, of course, that student accommodation can be hard to find and often can be very expensive. We are ramping up investment when it comes to student accommodation. Compared to this time last year, there are 900 more student beds or student apartments than was the case, and that is in publicly funded institutions. If we add privately provided student accommodation, we can add another 2,000 to that. Therefore, just since this time last year, there are approximately 900 additional student beds in publicly funded higher education institutions with an additional 2,000 being provided by the private sector. We are also taking other actions. The rent-a-room scheme, for example, is very popular at the moment whereby people can rent out a room in their house or apartment and earn up to €14,000 without paying any income tax. We have now changed the rules so that if somebody rents out a room in their house or apartment to a student or anyone else, it does not affect his or her eligibility for a medical card. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is working on proposals to extend that to people who are in social housing. Many are located very close to college campuses, which is a lot of spare rooms. His proposal is to make sure that somebody who is in social housing can rent out a room without it affecting his or her rent or eligibility for a medical card. We are also investing in purpose-built student accommodation. Since 2016, only seven years or so ago, the number of student beds and student apartments has increased by 13,000, which is a very considerable number. As we speak, there are a further 8,000 under construction. Therefore, what the Deputy is calling for us to do is already well under way. It is happening before her eyes, if she cares to open them.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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My eyes are wide open. Listening to the Taoiseach, one would imagine there is no problem at all. One would scratch one's head and wonder why thousands of our young brightest and best are mobilising on the streets today because according to the Taoiseach, there is no problem. According to him, it is not a problem that students commute for hours and hours to the extent that their social lives are totally broken and their mental and physical well-being is compromised. According to the Taoiseach, it is not a problem that rents are at record highs and that students really struggle to meet these rents. We heard about the young person who makes that decision about whether to eat or pay rent.

According to the Taoiseach, it is not a problem, it seems, that we are losing again a generation of talented, qualified people who we need in this country to build Ireland. Apparently, that is okay. According to Leo Varadkar, it is all going to plan. That is in his world. In the real world, where people with their eyes open look and care to see the evidence before them, our young people are really struggling - struggling to get basic accommodation so that they can pursue their study.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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They come here to ask questions of the Taoiseach and the Government as to what they will do, and it seems the Taoiseach is coming up blank for them.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time is up now, Deputy, please.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is not good enough. What will the Taoiseach do in next week's budget to make a real difference in these young people's lives?

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledged there is a problem. In fact, I said so in my earlier contribution. I said that student accommodation can be hard to find and can be expensive, and I set out exactly the actions that we have taken already to deal with that. Of course, we will take more in the budget and beyond. Why did Deputy McDonald seek to misrepresent what I said? Why did she seek to put words in my mouth? It is because Deputy McDonald is the great misleader. I heard her do it earlier as well, again, pushing this narrative-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Taoiseach is a phantom leader.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputies, please.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----that there is a mass one-way exodus of Irish citizens, Irish nationals and young people from our country. The truth is different. For centuries, Irish people had to leave in huge numbers and did not come home. It is different now. Yes, 80,000 Irish citizens and Irish nationals, many of them young people, left in the past three years, but 90,000 came back. Why will Deputy McDonald never say that? It is because she does not want people to know the truth. She is the misleader, and she wants to get her way into office by creating a false impression about a better country and what it is like.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Ivana Bacik.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Everyone should have a home and far too many people in Ireland today do not. Housing must be a key priority for the Government in next week's budget because housing is the civil rights issue of this generation.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Indeed, it is affecting every generation and community. It is why we are seeing students marching today with the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, and calling for an increase in student accommodation. It is why we are all hearing from employers who cannot recruit staff, schools that have teacher shortages and hospitals that cannot retain healthcare workers. This is because of the housing crisis across the country. Yet in this housing crisis, the Government has allowed a culture to embed in our urban centres whereby we see the blight and scourge of dereliction and vacancy taking hold and becoming embedded. The Government is not doing enough to address this. In some cases, the State is even contributing to dereliction and vacancy.

This week we saw an investigation by Ferghal Blaney of theIrish Mirror, which established that, shockingly, the HSE owns more than 250 empty buildings across the country. I raised this issue with the Taoiseach yesterday. In my constituency, these buildings include Baggot Street hospital, Bride Street health centre, Castle Street clinic and part of the old Meath Street hospital. These are properties which, as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said, could be repurposed to enable accommodation for healthcare workers and nurses struggling with the double whammy of a cost-of-living and housing crisis. We are also seeing other Government agencies in this situation. I am thinking of Department of Defence housing and barracks across the country that could be repurposed in a student accommodation crisis to provide much-needed housing and homes for students.

When I raised this issue with the Taoiseach yesterday, he acknowledged that under the Housing for All policy there has been an insufficient reduction in the number of HSE-owned properties allowed to lie vacant. I agree with him that the reduction has been insufficient, but, frankly, the attitude of Government agencies and Departments to their own land and buildings shows a disrespect for those people at the sharp end of the housing crisis. I refer to the students marching today who cannot find accommodation near their colleges, the families languishing on waiting lists and social housing lists at a time when more than 3,500 social housing units lie empty, working adults are stuck in their childhood bedrooms well into their 30s and 40s and, of course, the nearly 13,000 people who under the Taoiseach's watch are accessing emergency accommodation because they are homeless. We need to do more.

In Dublin Bay South, the Labour Party has been seeking to bring Baggot Street hospital back into use but we have received very little by way of positive engagement on this issue from the HSE. The sort of obfuscation we have got from the HSE shows a contempt for elected representatives and it is an affront to everybody affected by the housing crisis. How does the Government propose to address the vacancy and dereliction issue, which should be one key way to address the housing crisis? Our national government should be leading from the front on this aspect. What is the scale of the vacancy and dereliction problem in the property portfolios of State Departments and public bodies? Will the Government introduce a more co-ordinated push on vacancy and on bringing buildings back into use as housing for students, nurses and others who are so desperate for housing? Will the Taoiseach introduce this from central government?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is absolutely correct about one thing, which is that employers are struggling to recruit and retain staff. It is the case in the public sector and in the private sector, in big companies and small companies and in well-paid jobs and poorly-paid jobs. The main reason for this is full employment. The unemployment rate in Ireland stands at or around 4%, and most of the people unemployed are in between jobs. In fact, many economists say we are now beyond full employment, and this is the context in which employers are struggling to recruit and retain staff. This is the main reason, albeit not the only reason.

Turning to vacancy, the Deputy mentioned vacant social housing. Roughly 2% of our social housing stock is vacant and most of that is because the buildings are being renovated, are between tenants or are earmarked for demolition as part of regeneration. It will always be the case that 1% or 2% of social housing properties are vacant.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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For the-----

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will have an opportunity to ask a question and I promise not to interrupt him when he is asking it.

Turning to the HSE specifically, my Department chairs the State lands and property subgroup, which monitors the progress being made on this issue and the actions being taken by the HSE and other agencies and Departments to transfer State lands to the Land Development Authority, LDA. There are 26 sites that are of ongoing interest to local authorities and are ready to progress to the next stages of investigation and determination. Every effort is being made to identify State properties and lands that can be repurposed to increase the supply of housing over the long term. To give some good examples, Fingal County Council is currently refurbishing 12 derelict cottages on St. Ita's hospital campus in Portrane to bring them into use as social housing. St. Kevin's hospital in Cork has been transferred to LDA ownership and the construction of 265 social and affordable homes on this public land has commenced, and the first will be ready for occupation in 2025. This is, therefore, very much something the Government is working on, prioritising and taking action on.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I represent the Labour Party, the party of work and jobs, so there is no need to lecture our party on employment and full employment or even on being beyond full employment. Clearly, however, what is holding back the creation of jobs here now is the lack of availability of housing. It is holding back delivery of our public services, like education and healthcare, and is holding back our students who are trying to find somewhere close to their places of study where they can live in security. They cannot find it, and this is why they are marching today. Addressing vacancy and dereliction, particularly in public-owned buildings, should be the low-hanging fruit to be tackled and one way to address the housing crisis we are currently facing.

Last night, I hosted a public meeting in Rathmines with architect Duncan Stewart and local Labour Party representatives. People there had travelled from all over Dublin because they felt so passionately about the need to see concerted Government action to tackle the scourge of vacancy and dereliction across their communities. I say this because we are seeing it in every urban centre. What we are not seeing is sufficient urgency and ambition from the Government to tackle this issue. The Taoiseach has given a few positive local examples, and these are welcome, of where buildings are being brought back into use. I am aware efforts are under way in Dublin City Council to do the same. What we are lacking, however, is a concerted, central campaign from central government to bring State-owned properties back into use for accommodation for students, nurses and workers-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time is up, Deputy, please.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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-----who simply cannot afford a place they can call home now.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The approach we are taking to vacancy is one of carrot and stick. On one hand, we have, for example, grants that people can avail up to bring old buildings back into use. There are already 4,000 applications in for that scheme already. We also set up a fund of €150 million in order that local authorities can purchase vacant properties and bring those back into use. This is now happening all over the country. We are also transferring State-owned properties to the LDA in order that they can be developed for use for housing and other things. On the other hand, there is the stick approach. There is the vacant property tax, which will be coming into effect over the course of the next few months, the derelict sites levies and actions such as that. I think we are starting to see this move around the country, or, at least, I certainly am. It is not to the extent that I would wish to see it, but I am seeing it happen on the ground now and it is very encouraging.

Turning to the Labour Party being the party of work, that is fair enough. That is how it sees itself, but it has never achieved full employment while in government. We have. It is this Government that has brought about full employment. It is this Government that has brought about very significant increases in the national minimum wage and the move to a living wage.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The great economic work of Fianna Fáil.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is this Government that brought in statutory sick pay.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Who is going to bring that up?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is this Government that brought in parental leave. We have a much better record when it comes to employment and workers' rights than the Labour Party ever does on any objective analysis.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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Every single one of them.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Do the analysis.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputies, please. I call Deputy Peadar Tóibín.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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It was the Taoiseach's party's partner in government that wrecked the economy and brought about huge unemployment in the country.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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Who is the greatest misleader now?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputies, please.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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During the time allocated to Private Members' Business, the Regional Group raised the issue of the crisis in An Garda Síochána. I also wish to tackle this issue. I held a public meeting in County Meath last week on the issue. It was packed, with standing room only. Of the many people who attended, there were ordinary people and workers in the community and the stories they told were incredible. The situations included where women working in shops and retail outlets were being threatened with rape or sexual assault if they went to the Garda to identify people stealing in those areas, as well as people afraid to walk to the shops and places of work, and only getting lifts to and from those locations.

It was also said that criminal gangs were undertaking slow-motion crime sprees through the towns, breaking into shop after shop over 90 minutes, with a real feeling of impunity and immunity against the Garda tackling them, or having the ability to tackle them, or even having to go to court. One of the things I could not believe, and one of the issues new to me, is that so many people were afraid to get involved in prosecutions against the criminals involved in this type of mayhem. This was because they felt they would expose themselves to further threats and difficulties in the future.

There was a sense that younger criminals, especially, felt they would never go to jail; that they could have multiple convictions - 20, 30 or 40 - and still not see any jail time at all.

There is no doubt in my mind that we have reached a tipping point in many villages, towns and cities in this country in terms of the level of crime and antisocial behaviour that is happening. The figures back this up. The incidence of rape and sexual assault has doubled in the past 15 years in this State. The murder rate has significantly increased this year. Violent crime is on the increase in towns and villages. This is happening because we have a Garda force that is on its knees at the moment. There is a direct correlation between the damage that is being done to the Garda and the increase in crime and antisocial behaviour that has been happening over the past number of years. I took no pleasure in saying to the Minister for Justice today that for every year she has been in office, there has been a decrease in the number of gardaí in the State. We currently have one of the lowest numbers of police per capitain Europe. Gardaí are being physically attacked in their hundreds every year. They are resigning and retiring in their hundreds every year. There has been a collapse in the number of new recruits coming into Templemore and a collapse in morale. The Government does not have their back. When will the Government have the back of gardaí on the beat and make sure they are protected from the level of assault they are receiving? Garda welfare is a key element of the issues gardaí have with the Minister for Justice at the moment.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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This is a Government that is tough on crime. It is a Government that is building stronger and safer communities. How are we doing it? We are doing it in four ways. We are increasing Garda resources. The Garda budget is €2 billion for this year, which is the highest ever, and it will be higher again for next year. Contrary to what the Deputy said, we recruited between 700 and 800 gardaí this year and, in addition, 400 Garda staff. We will see Garda numbers stabilising this year and rising again next year. They peaked back in 2021, let us not forget, which is not that long ago. We still have more gardaí today than we had five years ago. We are also introducing tougher laws, with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, making provision for stronger and longer sentences for serious crimes against individuals. We are increasing the number of prison places. If we want hardened criminals who are a threat to society to serve their sentences, we need to do the maths and see we need more prison places. The Minister has plans afoot to increase the number of prison places by 600. We are also dealing with the root causes of crime by developing community safety partnerships, which is a major innovation introduced by the Minister and now being piloted in various parts of the country. We want to extend that initiative across the nation.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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First, this is a Government that is plainly weak on crime and weak on the causes of crime, to borrow the British Labour Party's mantra. The Government and the Minister for Justice have been distracted by the culture wars and have forgotten about the bread-and-butter issues that are currently affecting so many people in this country. In my county of Meath, there is a stretch from Enfield to Oldcastle to Nobber on which only six gardaí are available on a Saturday night. The nearest back-up garda is located 40 minutes away from them. That leaves those gardaí incredibly exposed in dealing with the difficulties they have. The Government needs to state clearly that those who purposely injure a garda will see time in jail, that is, a custodial sentence. There must be a minimum sentence for those who attack or physically harm a garda. Second, we need to ensure the terms, conditions and pay of gardaí will improve to make the job attractive in order that young men and women will take up posts in the force. Until those two things are done, we will see this crisis continue in communities throughout the country.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy about garda safety. It is really important that everyone, not just our gardái, feels safe at work. That extends to members of all our uniformed services, teachers, nurses and people working in our health service, who often face the risk of violence. It is particularly the case when it comes to our gardaí. That is why the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has led the charge on providing body-worn cameras for gardaí, which is really important for their protection, and making sure there are improvements in the equipment they have.

I am not sure what the Deputy really means by "culture wars". If anyone is distracted by them, it probably is him and not the Minister. I know the Minister from the time she was working in this building as a personal assistant to her father. I know her number one priority as Minister has been cracking down on domestic and gender-based violence. If we look at the murder and manslaughter statistics for this year, they are not because of gangland crime; they are women being killed by men they know.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The situation is getting worse.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The fact the Minister has made this a priority shows how serious she is about the serious crime of domestic and gender-based violence.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We go now to the Rural Independent Group, for whom the speaker is Deputy Michael Collins.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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We often speak in the Dáil about homelessness and the horror of young people getting eviction notices, which is an horrendous worry on anyone's mind. Let us think for one minute about being aged 70, 80 or 90-plus, being in a nursing home and getting an eviction notice. This happened in August to 48 residents of a 68-bed nursing home in Belgooly in west Cork, which is run by a group called Aperee Living. Many patients in the nursing home were notified before their families were that they must be out within six months, which would be February 2024. In the past week, families have been told that HIQA is escalating the closure and intends to evict residents by 24 October. I have been helping families over the past few weeks to try to find an alternative nursing home. For the remaining 30 patients, this immediate eviction order is a step too far.

On Tuesday, 8 August, I appealed to the Minister of State with responsibility for nursing homes, Deputy Butler, to attend a public meeting on this matter but she was unable to do so. On Saturday, 12 August, as well as the Minister of State, I invited the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Coveney, and the Tánaiste to a public protest, as many of the residents of the home are their constituents. They did not turn up. I again wrote to the Minister of State expressing the urgency of the matter and requesting her to meet the families and me as a local representative. Three or four weeks later, on 14 September, I received a detailed reply stating her support for HIQA's report, which showed many areas of non-compliance.

In the final line of her letter, the Minister of State noted that she understands how distressed the residents, their families and staff are but that her priority remains the health and well-being of the residents. Where is the health and well-being of patients being considered in this situation? The Minister of State refused to meet with anyone to discuss solutions that could have been brought forward. Where is the consideration for the health and well-being of patients on the part of the Department of Health, which has no back-up plan in cases of an emergency nursing home closure? Words of pity do not work here. How can the State stand idly by while elderly residents are thrown out of a nursing home in which some of them have resided for years? There are some married couples residing there. Surely the State has responsibilities in these areas and must step in and take over the running of nursing homes when they close, whether because of financial difficulties or HIQA issues. We cannot stand idly by and leave families heartbroken as their loved ones face eviction on 24 October. Eviction is what it is. We are turning our backs on the most vulnerable in our society.

The Taoiseach must act by launching an investigation into Aperee Living's running of this and other nursing homes to ensure patient care comes first. I wore myself out trying to communicate with Aperee Living regarding the Belgooly closure only to be met with an iron door in its refusal to engage. That is a statement in itself. The residents, families and staff of Aperee Living nursing home in Belgooly are on tenterhooks eight weeks later. If I contact Aperee Living, I am told the person there cannot talk and I should go to the HSE. If I ring the HSE, I am told to talk to HIQA. If I ring HIQA, the people there do not want to discuss the matter. The Department will kick the can in every direction. All of this is happening while the clock is ticking, with 30 residents facing eviction in a few weeks and with nowhere to go. Is the Taoiseach aware of this crisis in Belgooly nursing home and, if so, what is his solution for the residents? Will the HSE step in? This 68-bed nursing home, which was run brilliantly until Aperee Living came on board, is now facing closure within days. We need answers.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Collins for raising the very concerning issue of the Aperee Living nursing home in Belgooly, County Cork. I am aware of the matter. HIQA has engaged in a series of inspections of Aperee Living nursing homes, six of which are detailed in the publication of Thursday, 7 September. Across these facilities, the chief inspector is concerned about the registered provider's ability to sustain a safe and quality service. There has been ongoing regulatory engagement between HIQA and Aperee Living, including provider meetings and cautionary and warning meetings in regard to governance, management and fire safety. Further inspections have been completed over the summer period and further engagement with the group has taken place.

Many of these are unannounced inspections, which are an important part of any effective inspection process. Inspections have uncovered financial irregularities in relation to residents' incomes within six of the nursing homes and the chief inspector will use all powers available to her office to perform the necessary functions to investigate this under the regulations and the Health Act 2007. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, are providing the necessary resources to do this.

The inspectors who visited Belgooly were concerned about governance and management at the centre and especially when it came to residents' finances and the areas of continued non-compliance particularly for fire safety management, which had not been addressed by the provider. For this reason a restrictive condition was attached to the registration of the centre back in March to stop any new admissions until fire safety works were completed. This condition was put in place to protect the current and any future residents. At the time of the most recent inspection no substantial fire safety works had commenced. The report also found that other non-compliance from previous inspections were also reviewed. Further action is necessary on infection control, staffing, care planning, healthcare nutrition and residents' rights. Because of this the chief inspector has cancelled Aperee Living Belgooly's registration under section 51 of the Health Act 2007, due to persistent non-compliance with the regulations. Therefore, the home will close on 24 October.

Ensuring the welfare and safety residents when a nursing home closes is essential and the HSE has been informed and is working closely with the provider, residents and their families to assist the residents to move to alternative nursing home accommodation. In May 2023 the centre had 54 residents in situand that is now down to 22 who are still present. Work is being done to find alternative accommodation for them before the nursing home closes on 24 October.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach for the reply but I am astonished to think that the Taoiseach said he knew about this - and obviously the Taoiseach and other Ministers must know about this - but they have no solution. The nursing home is closing and there are 22 residents in that nursing home. They have no home to go to. The Government has no backup plan other than someone will talk to someone. As far as I am aware a six-month notice to patients is the very least. That is not even going to work here. They are being booted out after two months and the Government will just stand idly by and allow that to happen. Instead, some kind of a system needs to be set in place. Surely to God this has happened somewhere else in the country. Is the Government just abandoning people because they are old people who cannot speak for themselves and cannot stand up and say this is wrong?

HIQA has standards and we must respect that those standards have to be met. But if the standards are to be met in community hospitals funding is given by the Government to do that. When the standard must be met in a nursing home the private operators cannot afford some of these standards. Still, HIQA has no standards when there is overcrowding in Cork University Hospital or University Hospital Limerick or many more places. There are no worries about standards there but there are when it is the standards in this case. I do not mind that we stand by standards but these people need to have an answer here today. They cannot be waiting to be wheeled out in a wheelchair in three weeks' time and taken home, perhaps to a house here there is nobody left. The Government has turned its back on the people of Belgooly and its surrounds. I ask the Taoiseach to give me an answer.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I understand that a lot of people, whether it is the remaining 22 residents or their family members, are very concerned about the situation. I certainly would be if it was my mother or grandmother. This nursing home has to be closed. HIQA does not cancel a registration lightly. I absolutely guarantee that. The fact that they have given such short notice should indicate to the Deputy how serious this situation is.

We are down to 22 residents. Residents and their families have to be consulted and given appropriate notice so that new homes can be found within the fair deal. However, pending alternative arrangements the HSE, either with the consent of the registered provider or if needs be by order of the District Court, shall take charge of the designated centre and ensure safe and appropriate care for the residents. At the moment, work is being done to try to find appropriate alternative accommodation for the 22 remaining residents but the power exists for HIQA to take over the running of the centre if that is necessary. That is an option.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Taoiseach. That concludes Leaders' Questions.