Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I hope to deal with the subjects raised in order although I am very bad at taking notes. In reply to Senator Byrne, I was the person who insisted that HIQA undertake the inspections of residential settings. I must admit I have no problem in putting my hand up and taking responsibility for things and that is how I have lived my life and it has probably served me well thus far. The regulations in place are not fit for purpose. They will ensure that all the doors will close, that all the hooks will be on the walls and there will be three different colour bins. However, in reality, would the Senator's house pass that test because mine would not? I am serious. Would it pass that test? If we are serious about saying that these places are where people live, then surely we should have different regulations. I admit that and we are looking at the situation. We had to allow the regulations to be in place for a time and they have been very useful. I have always said that if I had a loved one in a residential setting of whatever type - whether for older people or for people with disabilities or for young people with chronic illness - I would say, "God bless HIQA" because it is the body that will ensure that people get the type of respect they deserve. I do not think the Senator and I disagree on that point. I hope that not all HIQA's inspection visits are announced - I am a great believer in the unannounced visit - but I am not a great believer in the big stick visit. The majority of people in this world set out to do a very good job. I acknowledge that a small number of people lose empathy and may have been too long in a particular position and may not be as empathetic and compassionate as they should be. However, we got that wrong and we have to change it but that is a small thing to change.

When I come to this House I do not play political football because I do not think it serves any purpose, but I often wonder what we could do if we had more money. We must all agree that we are starting from a very low base and this is unfortunate. That is the past and there is no point in dwelling on the past as we should be looking to the future because I do not believe that people with disabilities at whatever age and with whatever disability will thank us for that.

In reply to Senator van Turnhout, I do not believe that we have to look to England for research findings. We are leaders in the world in respect of TILDA II and we are the only people doing it. I am not surprised by the conditions which the Senator named but it is interesting that we never look at the positive aspects. TILDA II tells us that people with intellectual disabilities, in particular, that people with Down's syndrome, do not have high blood pressure. I was astonished at that fact. It would seem that they do not have stressful lives. They are very quick to get over the immediate issue. However, people with Down's syndrome can develop different forms of dementia at an early stage. It is common across the board unless they are living within the family circle. They can have childlike taste in food such as liking McDonald's and fast food and their diet can be bad as a result. I do not think we need to look at other countries because we are aware of the issues and we know how to deal with them.

In reply to Senator Burke, thankfully, reconfiguration is one of the few areas for which I am not responsible. However, I take his concerns on board and I will pass them on. Senator Moran referred to the psychological services available. All I can say is that we are starting from a very low base. I came from a very long and protracted meeting this morning which dealt with the interconnection between primary care and disability services. Bringing those two services together will give us a bigger bang for our buck. Senator Moran also referred to respite care. The cut to the respite grant had nothing to do with me because I do not administer it.