Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. It has been three years since the damning crisis of Leas Cross and the total breach of the duty and standard of care owed to nursing home residents was exposed. The Government at the time said it would never happen again. In March 2008 the final draft of the standards for residential care were published. I, with my colleague, congratulate the Minister of State, but at the time there was a requirement in the draft legislation for a regulatory impact assessment. The Minister of State spoke about this in her speech and said that a cost benefit analysis had to be done by consultants to carry this out. What was the result of the cost benefit analysis and how much did the consultants cost? When will we know the outcome of the report?

The investigation into Leas Cross revealed some serious issues. I will not discuss them all because it is a horrific memory for all who saw the programme. It was an appalling abuse of the elderly, but it was an exception. The majority of nursing homes in Ireland, thankfully, provide excellent, quality care for our elderly.

I welcome, as part of the standards, the proposed individual care plans. The legislation is about caring for individuals. They are not like a herd of cattle thrown into a pen. These are people with feelings and requirements. I also welcome the intention to communicate with patients and residents. These are the people who have needs and requirements, and we urgently need to consult and talk with them.

Why has it taken so long to decide the standards? Senator Prendergast spoke on standards and the size of rooms. I agree there must be quality regarding cleanliness, nutrition and recreation, but we must be mindful of the fact that these are homes and people must live there. I visited many nursing homes — I have elderly relatives and friends who are in nursing homes — and I have been in cold, clean, white, clinical, brand new nursing homes, but I would not like to end up there. I would prefer to be in a homely, warm nursing home that is well established and has regular staff, enough staff so they can take time to talk and provide warmth and care. Courtesy and respect for our elderly population are important.

My uncle is in the Camilian Fathers nursing home in Mullingar. It provides the best care. One regulation a number of years ago stated that the curtains surrounding each bed were too short — they had been put in place the year before — and they all had to be replaced. They were of a specific fire regulation quality. It cost thousands to replace all the curtains because the regulations said they were too short, and the reason was the privacy and dignity of the client. That is important, but replacing them because they were too short was scandalous.

In St. Vincent's Hospital in Athlone we are proposing a new primary care unit with a view to moving all the patients to a new facility in Clonbrusk. There is a proposition that each patient will have his or her own room. I am not sure if it is necessarily the best approach for elderly persons to have rooms of their own. If they want them, well and good, but there is a staff shortage. How will the staff look after the patients in the individual rooms? It is nice to have a choice but I am not sure people want to be in rooms on their own. I imagine it could be very lonely if one is elderly.

I am also aware that owing to staff shortages, elderly people help each other out. They ring the bell for each other, help each other with their tea or whatever. I question whether we should have these clinical, brand new facilities without communication among the patients. It is not all about modern facilities but providing properly trained staff to look after the clients.

I welcome the main aspects of the legislation and ask the Minister of State to answer my questions on the cost of implementing these measures and how they will affect the older private nursing homes in terms of being able to afford to implement these changes.