John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming at such short notice to respond to these statements. I appreciate the chance to make some points arising from the exposé aired on television on Monday last. There is no doubting the strength of the reaction among the public, the media and in both Houses of the Oireachtas.

I wish to add my voice to the expressions of shock, anger and dismay at the images of abuse of elderly people, shown on our televisions. No one should attempt to play down the disturbing nature of this issue. While we were rightly shocked at what we saw, I was not shocked at the debate on standards in nursing homes. I do not usually find it useful to rehash old statements, but on 15 April 2003 I said: "To maintain high standards of care in residential homes, an even more rigorous inspection system is essential". The wider issue of care for the elderly was debated that night.

The makers of Monday's programme will receive plaudits from all sources for the exposé but I was more shocked at being presented with the video images than at the fact that this type of abhorrent behaviour can happen. It happens across the world. When I made that statement two years ago I feared that this type of abuse was possible and probable, and may always be. That may not sound right but international surveys unfortunately show that 4% of residents in institutions are subject to abuse. I am not defending or condoning this but being honest and balanced.

In response to my contribution that day, the then Minister of State with responsibility for the elderly stated that I had, "made a number of suggestions that should be considered. These matters are under consideration". This matter is under consideration again today, in the shadow of horrific evidence.

Amid the outcry, we must look at who is responsible for what we saw on Monday night. Comments were made earlier to the effect that the Tánaiste had gone missing. The Tánaiste did not go missing. With all due respect to the Minister of State, we do not want micro-management at all times. People have responsibilities and should be allowed to speak at appropriate times. A Minister should not have to deal with every issue that arises in his or her Department.

In the first instance, responsibility for the ill-treatment of elderly citizens lies with the so-called carers in the home in question. Untrained staff were left to their own devices and the possibility of this type of unacceptable behaviour occurring is high. There may be little we in this House can do to address this directly.

Responsibility also lies with the management and owners of residential homes. When they accept patients from trusting families, they have a serious duty to ensure that residents in their care are treated to the highest standards. When the law is broken in this regard, it is imperative that there is an inspection system whereby the full rigours of that law are implemented. This is integral to deterring other unscrupulous individuals from perpetuating ill-treatment of older people.

A measure of responsibility lies with attending medical staff also. I hope that any general practitioner or nurse who tended to an older person would be able to identify any evidence of ill-treatment, and to act on that evidence through the relevant authorities. That responsibility should be supported in legislation.

It is a sad reality of modern society that families do not always treat their older members with the respect they deserve. If that is the case, families of patients must also take responsibility for allowing their loved ones reside in sometimes less than suitable conditions. I do not refer to any family of those persons depicted in Monday's programme. However, we must discuss this issue honestly and openly. Therefore, responsibility must be apportioned wherever it should lie.

Our national broadcaster has provided a public service in many ways, for many years. The programmes it continues to make are of the highest standards and have helped to bring issues to the heart of public debate and the top of political agendas. I am concerned, however, when there is any suggestion of a lack of balance in reporting.

There are many fine residential homes, public and private. Many fine staff and management run these homes. We should keep this in mind. No one can defend the behaviour revealed on Monday night. Training, standards and inspection must be looked at anew. We must do everything in our power to protect those whose capacity to protect themselves is reduced.

Responsibility for abuse of any individual lies with the abuser in the first instance, and this House has a role in making sure that the required legislation is in place to make it possible to deal with such individuals. No one should underestimate what we saw and I am not trying to play it down but we all have responsibilities. I mentioned this two years ago. Perhaps I should have mentioned it every day since. When we speak of responsibilities we must be clear about what we mean. The issue of abuse of the elderly and ageism is changing dramatically because of the way our society has evolved.

We all have much to learn and have many questions to ask. I hope the outcome of this programme will be a debate that will result in the necessary legislation being brought forward to support the Minister of State in his responsibilities and those administering nursing homes to care for the patient and the elderly and to give that the highest priority if we value society the way we should.