David Norris (Independent)

I have spoken on the issue of nursing homes on a number of occasions, but not on this Bill, of course. I am reluctant to regurgitate what I have said on the subject before. However, this is a very important area and it has been highlighted by the media, in particular the investigations by RTE and others into the tragic situation at Leas Cross.

From the outside, what a lovely place it looked. One would imagine everybody was comfortable and well cared for. Then we learned that the situation was not as it appeared once one was inside. I listened to a woman on radio the other day who told a tragic story about her father. He had been very active, went into Leas Cross, I believe, and had a series of illnesses complicated by minor strokes as well as lung infections.

The woman visited one day and her father was not well. The next day they said he was better. They wheeled him out in a type of pram with a rug around his legs, his spectacles stuck on his face and the newspaper on his lap. The man was dying, but this was all just cosmetic to persuade the relatives that he was improving. The relatives insisted on an ambulance being called and waited a considerable time, but nothing happened. Eventually the daughter said they would take the man to hospital in their own car because the nursing home people had first of all said, "There is no admission from here", which was a very strange phrase to use.