Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to this House and thank him for putting his statement on record. It was important that my party gave up its allocated time for Private Members' business in order that this two hour debate is held and Members have the opportunity to put their views of this matter on record.

I fundamentally disagree with the Minister of State's assessment of the situation. It is wrong that a Bill will be published later this year without a timeframe in terms of the implementation of an independent inspectorate. We should urgently revisit the matter because it is not the response that the country awaits. Political responsibility is needed.

This is not the first time we have learned of these matters. In December 2002, the National Council on Ageing and Older People called for an independent inspectorate. In February 2001, my party brought a Private Members motion before the Dáil which called for an independent inspectorate but was voted down by the Government. In July 2001, the then Senator O'Dowd stated in this House:

Senators might find it hard to believe that there is a nursing home in the North Eastern Health Board region that gets its patients up at 5.30 a.m., but it is true. The reason they are out of bed at that hour is that there are several high dependent patients there and there is inadequate staff to go in at 8 o'clock to get them dressed and ready for breakfast.

In March 2002, the then Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Dr. Moffatt, said that no arrangements are in place for an independent inspectorate but that it was "planned to rectify this by expanding the role of the social services inspectorate to cover extended care facilities for older people." That was not done. In April 2003, a report from the Human Rights Commission was clear on similar problems which occurred in two places. A cursory reply was received eight months after sending the report to the Department of Health and Children but no action was taken. In December 2004, Deputy Seán Ryan was shot down when he called for an independent inspectorate.

I put these matters on record because political responsibility should be taken. I am not aware of every problem which exists in the Department, although some were exposed in the Travers report. It is not good enough that politicians can hang senior civil servants out to dry while saving their own scalps. Nor is it good enough that three Ministers of State with specific responsibilities in the area have failed since 2000 to act to create an independent inspectorate and a more rigorous interim system of investigation to bridge the gap between the proposed statutory mechanism and the current ad hoc regime. Who takes responsibility for the failure? Is it the fault of senior civil servants? Will another assistant secretary have to pack his bags to be hived off to the Higher Education Authority? The matter goes to the heart of Government.