Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 273: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on the introduction of an Irish older persons' Bill that would delineate the rights and entitlements of older Irish persons in the areas of non-discriminatory care and services provision, promotion of welfare of older persons, older persons' entitlement to assessment of needs, protection from neglect and abuse, licensing of private nursing homes, inspection and publication of reports, public nursing home care provision, inspection and reports, registration, licensing and supervision of care facilities, and sanctions for failure to meet agreed standards of care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2062/08]

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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There are no plans to introduce an Irish Older Person's Bill as referred to by the Deputy. However, I am delighted to inform the Deputy that the Office for Older People will be formally launched by the Taoiseach on Wednesday 30th January 2008.

The main functions of the new Office will be to establish an interdepartmental network to draw up and implement a Strategy for Positive Ageing; to bring greater coherence to the formulation of policy affecting older people at a cross-departmental level and to develop policy and oversee and monitor the delivery of health and personal social services for older people. The Office will proactively lead the co-ordination of policy in relation to Services for Older People across relevant government departments and agencies.

In response to the key issues raised by the Deputy in his question, I have outlined the most up to date position as follows:

1. Assessment of Needs

The Bill providing for the new Fair Deal Scheme is at an advanced stage. This legislation will establish a uniform national system of financial support for people in need of nursing home care. Within this, the legislation will address the issue of an assessment of care needs for those who may need long-term residential care.

2. Protection from Neglect and Abuse

Elder Abuse may involve physical, psychological, sexual or financial abuse or it may otherwise arise due to inadequacy of care for whatever reason. Following a comprehensive work programme the Working Group on Elder Abuse published its report, 'Protecting Our Future' in 2002. This Report made various recommendations in relation to the development of health and non-health services necessary to deal with elder abuse. It recommended that the issue of elder abuse be placed in the wider context of health and social care services for older people. The Department of Health and Children established the Elder Abuse National Implementation Group (EANIG) in 2003 to oversee and guide the implementation of the elder abuse programme.

The majority of the recommendations in relation to the development of the health services necessary to tackle elder abuse have been implemented. This includes, in recent times, the appointment by the HSE of Senior Case Workers and Dedicated Elder Abuse Officers nationally together with the development of improved training, protocols and other appropriate measures.

3. Nursing Homes

Currently, private nursing homes are registered in accordance with the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990 and are subject to inspection by the Health Service Executive on the basis of the standards set out in the Care and Welfare Regulations 1993.

A fundamental principle of the Health Service Reform Programme is to put the users of health and personal social services at the centre of the services. The Health Act 2007 reflects this principle and provides for the establishment of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). The objective of the Authority is to promote safety and quality in the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public.

The existing inspection and registration systems for residential services will be replaced by a strengthened and expanded system and the Act strengthens and modernises the registration and de-registration process. The Act also provided for the establishment of the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services with specific statutory functions for inspecting and registering residential centres for older people, including private nursing homes. The Health Service Executive (HSE) is liaising with HIQA to facilitate this and transitional arrangements will be agreed as we move towards the new system of inspection.

Formal standards are a key requirement for inspection and registration. An important function of the Authority is the setting of standards on safety and quality in relation to services providing by the Health Service Executive and service providers to monitor compliance on the part of the HSE and service providers with these standards in an open and transparent way.

A new set of draft national standards for residential care was published in January 2007 by the Minister for Health & Children. The draft standards are designed to ensure the protection of residents, to safeguard and promote their health, welfare and quality of life and to ensure that there is a focus on the well-being, dignity and autonomy of older people.

As the Health Act, 2007 provides that the enhanced inspection function will be taken over by HIQA, the draft standards were formally referred to the Authority for consultation and finalisation. HIQA published draft standards on 8 August, 2007 for public consultation. The results of the public consultation were discussed at the most recent meetings of the HIQA Working Group and it is expected that the standards will be finalised shortly. 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.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her proposals for the implementation of the Madrid Plan, as adopted by the Madrid Assembly on Aging 2002 and committed to by Member States of the European Union to prioritise the older person agenda, the development of a society for all ages, adjusting its structures and functions, policies and plans to the needs and capabilities of all, guided by the principles of equity and reciprocity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2216/08]

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to inform the Deputy that the Office for Older People will be formally launched by the Taoiseach on Wednesday 30th January 2008.

The main functions of the new Office will be to establish an interdepartmental network to draw up and implement a Strategy for Positive Ageing; to bring greater coherence to the formulation of policy affecting older people at a cross-departmental level and to develop policy and oversee and monitor the delivery of health and personal social services for older people.

A critical component of the Office will be to create a "whole of government" approach to older people — both in terms of policy development and service delivery. This will involve a critical function of developing working relationships with key government departments and formalising networks and lines of communication to embed this approach in all aspects of government. The Office will proactively lead the co-ordination of policy in relation to Services for Older People across relevant government departments and agencies.

In the context of developing a National Strategy for Positive Ageing, special attention will be paid to the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) referred to by the Deputy. The new Office for Older People will be the focal point for the MIPAA process.

The Plan listed objectives and recommendations for action under three priority directions:

older persons and development

advancing health and well-being into old age

enabling and supportive environments

These objectives are reflected in the overall functions of the new Office as outlined above and will feature strongly in the new Strategy for Positive Ageing.

The role of non-Governmental organisations in the implementation, assessment and follow-up of the Plan was also acknowledged and I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a National Advisory Council for Older People will be established as part of the overall arrangements for the new Office.

The process of implementation of MIPAA is an evolving one and the establishment of the Office for Older People is an important development in this context.