Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress made on the national standards for residential care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35793/07]

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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In January 2007 the Minister for Health & Children published a new set of draft national standards for all nursing homes. The standards were developed by a working group chaired by DoHC and included the Health Service Executive, Social Service Inspectorate and the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board.

As the Health Act, 2007 provides that the enhanced inspection function will be taken over by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the draft standards were formally referred to HIQA for consultation and finalisation. The Authority established a wide-ranging Working Group to finalise the draft standards.

The terms of reference of the Group were to:

review and develop the draft standards

establish a process for targeted and public consultation

oversee the public consultation process

consider feedback from the public consultation process

finalise the draft standards for publication and inspection

HIQA published draft standards on 8 August, 2007 for public consultation. Members of the public, service users, their families, service providers and all those with an interest in residential care for older people were invited to submit their views on the draft.

The results of the public consultation were discussed at the most recent meetings of the HIQA Working Group. It is proposed to hold one further meeting of the Working Group to finalise the standards. The next step will be to refer the standards to the Minister, following which Regulations will be drafted to give statutory underpinning to the Standards.