Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The first meeting of a cross-party Oireachtas group on mental health takes place at 2 p.m. today in the AVC room. I ask colleagues to support this initiative. Cross-party groups are common in other parliaments and this is a worthwhile initiative. I know Senators have a great interest in mental health and I ask colleagues to support this if they can.

This is the first day of the new independent inspections of nursing homes. This is very welcome. It is long overdue. The independent inspection of nursing homes will be carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. When will there be independent inspections of residential services for children who are intellectually disabled? Yesterday, the Ombudsman for Children was before the health committee and she highlighted her ongoing concerns about the lack of monitoring of residential services for children with intellectual disabilities. For two years there have been meetings between the Department of Health and Children, HIQA and the Minister of State with responsibility for children to consider such an independent mechanism and how it will be put in place. In this post-Ryan report era, during which we have been examining the implications of residential care when it goes wrong, is it not about time we had an independent inspection regime for residential homes where children are living now? Many members of the committee yesterday were horrified to hear this from the Ombudsman for Children. Senator Mary White was at the meeting and she was extremely concerned about children who are in care where there is not the independent monitoring that is required. I ask the Leader to take up this matter with the Minister of State with responsibility for children and ask him to report to the House. The Seanad is in a position to discuss issues such as the protection of children, keeping children's needs to the fore and protecting and developing front-line services for children, something the Government has said it will do and it has asked the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, to report to the Houses by the end of July in that regard. We should prioritise putting this inspectorate in place. I do not know how much it will cost but the cost of not doing it, in terms of children's lives, will be truly horrific, with a repeat of some of the abuses that took place historically. We must not allow this situation to continue. I ask the Leader to seek a response from the Minister of State with responsibility for children and to get a timeframe from him for changing this situation.

Incidentally, Ireland is one of the few countries that still does not have a child death review mechanism. Children in care have died, some accidentally. I am not suggesting that all such deaths are questionable but no independent investigation takes place when a child dies in care. That cannot continue. These are not just historical issues, they are current.