Ivana Bacik
Dublin Bay South · Labour Party · Ireland
“Just today I and other local representatives got an email from the owner of two restaurants in Dublin city centre about this issue. The Minister of State’s brief includes not only the circular economy but also small business.”
“The Bill Deputy Sherlock and the Labour Party are proposing is not one we suggest is a silver bullet or a panacea but it offers one small, constructive mechanism to address the dysfunction in waste services.”
“In Dublin Bay South we have superb Tidy Towns organisations that I am proud to work with from Ringsend and Sandymount across to Portobello in my area to Rathgar, Rathmines, Terenure, Donnybrook and Ballsbridge. We see really important work being done by Tidy Towns organisations.”
“The owner says he no longer has space to accommodate additional recycling bins, cannot leave recyclable waste out for collection and cannot leave flattened cardboard outside for collection. Private waste companies must send a vehicle to collect this directly from premises. This is costly, inefficient and unnecessary.”
“I do not mean just in Dublin, though Deputy Sherlock and I are focusing on Dublin and most of the TDs present are Dublin ones, as clearly this has ramifications across the country and the dissatisfaction and the concerns Deputy Sherlock’s constituents and mine are expressing are ones felt across the board.”
“We want to see a move, as Deputy Sherlock has it in the Bill, from competition in the market to competition for the market and this Bill would represent an important positive step on that journey to quality public services provided by the State and to remunicipalisation. Deputy Sherlock has set out the detailed provisions in the Bill.”
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“Grocery prices have risen by more than 5% since this time last year. Average monthly rents are now at €2,000. It is not just families and students who are concerned about the impact of this U-turn, as it appears the junior partner in the coalition of chaos, Fine Gael, is also in consternation about this announcement. The Tánaiste even suggested this morning, in what sounded like a desperate scramble to row back on the Minister’s plans, that third level fees would go up and then might come down again, all within one college year. There was no certainty about it. It seems Fine Gael backbenchers have gone even further to distance themselves from the Minister, Deputy Lawless. We heard it on yesterday’s "Liveline" programme.”
“It seems this week we are seeing yet another screeching U-turn from the Government. After its recent U-turns on rent pressure zones and tax and spending priorities for this budget, this time the change of tack relates to the announcement by the Minister, James Lawless, on college fees. On Sunday, the Minister took to the national airwaves to say there would be what will amount to a massive hike in fees this year, apparently from the €2,000 students paid last year to €3,000 this year. As the Minister will know, this U-turn has caused widespread consternation among students, parents and families because the budgeting plans for households across the country, especially those with multiple children in third level, have now been thrown into doubt, and this during a cost-of-living crisis. The Minister knows the pressure households are under.”
“I welcome the Tánaiste's commitment to raise this serious issue with the US ambassador but, as the line Minister for issuing visas, what can Deputy O'Callaghan do to reassure young people here who hope to travel to the US on a J-1 visa but are fearful of this treatment?”
“Each year thousands of young Irish people work in the US on J-1 visas. I have done it myself, a happy summer in Boston many years ago. Generally, it is a very positive experience. However, things have changed drastically under US President Trump with the recent authoritarian announcement that students will have to hand over social media accounts. We are watching a major incursion on freedom of expression unthinkable in a western democracy. This week a young Norwegian tourist was detained by ICE at Newark Airport and sent back to Oslo. Why? He had on his phone a meme depicting Vice President JD Vance as a baby. It is extraordinary that this amusing meme depicting a public person would be used as an excuse to detain a young person for five hours and then deport him back to Oslo.”
“The Dublin task force has called for 1,000 extra gardai but there was no mention of that yesterday in the Minister’s implementation plan. It is not just gardaí or policing practice. Clearly, we need more general reform. A year ago, in response to the courageous advocacy of Natasha O'Brien, we in the Labour Party brought forward a motion with eight specific asks on addressing gender-based violence. A year on, Natasha will be highlighted in a programme on RTÉ tonight calling again for more reform of the criminal justice system to address the needs of survivors. I will send the Minister our motion and I will be looking for action on it.”
“Of course, I entirely agree with the Minister that not all the solutions are through the criminal justice system. Of course, this is an issue for all of society to address. This is an endemic social issue. It is the survivors themselves who have told me about hearing that dismissive attitude. Unfortunately, it is all too prevalent not just in the criminal justice system, but throughout our society. That is why we call for zero tolerance to tackle the attitude that dismisses what is a desperately serious issue and what is an epidemic. Of course, there is excellent practice within An Garda Síochána but gardaí themselves acknowledge the need for improved training. We all know there is a shortcoming in Garda numbers.”
“Does he accept his own role in ensuring that the Garda response to domestic and gender-based violence is adequate? What will he do to address this?”
“However, we need to hear specifically how the Minister will ensure consistency in the Garda response to reports of domestic and sexual violence. Undoubtedly, some of the increased calls are due to heightened awareness but as Sarah Benson from Women’s Aid says, the record high numbers are still only the tip of the iceberg. We all know there is a dark figure of unreported sexual and domestic violence in Ireland and it needs to be tackled. Victims and survivors need support. Gardaí in local stations are the first line to whom reports are made and they clearly require more training. Gardaí themselves acknowledge this and the Minister has also acknowledged that the training needs to be improved. With the new Garda Commissioner to be appointed soon, will the Minister ensure that this new officer tackles it as a priority?”
“As a former criminal lawyer - I am sure the Minister has heard this too - I know that all too often, a troubling refrain would be heard in the process, "Ah, it’s only a domestic." That attitude has to be challenged. We all know the brutal impact that domestic violence has, including women are killed or injured by partners or women are entrapped in their homes, subjected to coercive control or manipulated by former partners through the legal process. That is why we must have zero tolerance because the consequences are so appalling for women and children. Yesterday, the Minister launched the final implementation plan for the zero-tolerance strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It and the actions within it are welcome.”
“In its survey, it found that nearly half of the women who sought help from the Garda in the past year found the response “unhelpful”. That is appalling, and the finding reflects a pattern. In March, the Garda Inspectorate reported huge variations in rates of arrest, including for breaches of domestic violence orders, across Garda divisions. Previous studies, for example, in 2019 and 2020, showed that more than 3,000 999 calls on domestic violence went unanswered or were cancelled. In one year, the Garda Inspectorate said that 11,000 reported domestic violence incidents led to only 287 arrests. This is not zero tolerance. It reflects what may be a dismissive attitude within the criminal process.”
“I want to mark the sad passing of Jacqui Browne, who died yesterday. I had the pleasure of knowing and working with Jacqui as an activist on Thalidomide over many years and was very sad to hear the news. May she rest in peace. With its report today, Women’s Aid has highlighted the reality that we have an epidemic of violence against women in Ireland. We, of course, acknowledge that progress has been made in recent years. Ireland does now have the agency Cuan and a suite of laws designed to institute zero tolerance for gender-based and domestic violence, and the Minister referred earlier to other changes he is bringing forward on counselling notes. While that is welcome, all of these laws are ineffective if the first line of defence, the gardaí, are not implementing them adequately. That is the charge made by Women’s Aid today.”
“I have a very straightforward question. We understand that this morning the Tánaiste brought to Cabinet an outline of the replacement occupied territories Bill. We understand it will operate by merely amending the Customs Act and it appears this will close the door on banning the importation of services that are enriching those profiteering from genocide at a time when we know that 70% of Ireland's trade with Israel is in services. The original occupied territories Bill that had widespread support across the House - indeed, from Fianna Fáil originally as well - prohibited trade in both goods and services. It is a simple question. Will the Taoiseach be open to amending the Government Bill to ensure it covers trade in both goods and services?”
“In the 1960s Fianna Fáil ensured State intervention directly in the delivery of homes through the National Building Agency under Seán Lemass. There were lots of issues with that, but certainly there was no difficulty with having a State-led focus on delivery of homes, and that is what we in the Labour Party have called for. Let the State, through local authorities-----”
“First, I should reassure the Taoiseach and any school staff watching that of course I was using the word "released" in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion. Our schools are generally very happy places, children are generally very happy to receive an education and we have excellent school staff across the country. On a more serious note, what I am hearing from the Taoiseach and his Government is nothing that offers any reassurance to families who wish to be released from homelessness. That is the sad reality. The Taoiseach's Government is offering no hope to people. The Labour Party put forward the homeless families Bill eight years ago. In the meantime, the number of children in homelessness has almost doubled and there is no sense of urgency or ambition from the Government. Maybe the Taoiseach should look back at his party's past.”
“Notices of termination are the biggest driver of homelessness in Dublin, representing 32% of all those presenting as homeless in 2023 and 42% in 2024, a 10% increase in one year. The Government is offering nothing to families in this scenario. We in the Labour Party offered a homeless families Bill which would oblige authorities to prioritise the needs of children as members of families, not just treat them as dependents of homeless adults.”
“Spending has more than trebled in the past decade, which is demand driven. Spending on emergency accommodation is increasing because more people and, shamefully, more children are being left without a home. They have been failed by the State. They have been failed by this Government. The cost of that failure is more than just monetary. I think we are all aware of the immense human cost of families forced to give up pets, move into one room and of children whose lives are curtailed in this way. The consequences of allowing children to be left without a home are disastrous for the individual families and households and for our entire social order. The Government is not offering any prospect of hope to families facing notices to quit. Its policies are tolerating the intolerable.”
“Those children in homelessness face a very different prospect than their peers this summer. They do not have forever homes. Some entire families are sharing one room in a homeless hub, hotel or hostel. Their children have no room to play or grow. Their parents face an awful situation, often forced to make really difficult choices. Yesterday, I visited a dog shelter. There, I heard from staff who told me about the anguish faced by families forced to give up beloved family pets because they are entering homelessness. I met one family dog and a litter of little puppies. Her owners were desperate to keep her but could not because they had received notice to quit. Dublin City Council anticipates that the cost of housing people in emergency accommodation will increase by €35 million this year.”
“I give a warm welcome to the Little Blue Heroes who are with us in Leinster House today or watching online. I commend the gardaí involved in the organisation. I hope they have a pleasant day with us. This week, primary school children across the country will be released from school for their summer holidays. They will wave goodbye to teachers, SNAs and classrooms and put away their schoolbags and books until after the holidays but some children will have very little to look forward to this summer. The latest statistics on homelessness will be released on Friday. As it stands, in Ireland today, 4,775 children are recorded as homeless. This figure is likely to go up on Friday, as it has done consistently since a Fianna Fáil Minister lifted the eviction ban in 2023.”
“I am glad about that. However, their solicitor, who wrote a follow-up letter to the justice Minister, the Garda Commissioner and others on 28 May has not yet received a response.”
“There is a new documentary podcast on RTÉ, which tells a very serious story about 23-year-old Elizabeth Plunkett from Ringsend who was murdered in 1976. She was a victim of Ireland's first serial killers, John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans, who acted in concert and also killed a second woman, Mary Duffy. Evans died in prison. Shaw was convicted of Mary Duffy's murder but was never convicted of Elizabeth's murder. Elizabeth's sisters, Kathleen and Bernadette, whom I know well, who I know have been in touch with the justice Minister have been seeking answers for years. They are not legally regarded as victims within the Parole Board process. This only came to light in 2023. The justice Minister is aware of this. An inquest was delayed for 50 years. I raised this issue in the Dáil last year. The inquest was finally held in January.”
“I understand the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, said that during the debate. We need clarity and a timeline, with respect, on the safeguarding legislation and, crucially, on the issue of HIQA powers. People are desperately seeking a clear pathway for making complaints, including a pathway to escalate a complaint. That is sadly lacking. As the Taoiseach rightly said, people are seeking a clear indication that HIQA has effective sanctions available to it, including the sanction of temporary closure, if necessary. I sat yesterday in a café in my constituency with a family whose mother had been severely badly treated in a nursing home. They pointed out to me that the café could be closed temporarily if food standards fell short of statutory rules, but the nursing home cannot be shut down in the same way. That is where we need to go.”
“On the safeguarding piece, we are not rushing into this. The Law Reform Commission published a report last year. Just two weeks ago, Safeguarding Ireland published a clear blueprint of pathways and necessary steps for the Government to take. During debates on nursing home care, I think the Minister of State with responsibility for older persons said the safeguarding Bill would be introduced in this House before the summer recess.”
“What will the Taoiseach do to ensure there is effective safeguarding in place? Will he introduce legislation before the summer recess? Will he ensure that HIQA has the necessary teeth to deliver sanctions where abuse occurs?”
“However, information shared with my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, shows that HIQA had received detailed protected disclosures prior to broadcast and that it received seven pages of correspondence from Aoife Hegarty herself 12 days before broadcast. This information included allegations relating to a third nursing home not featured in the RTÉ programme. When Deputy Sherlock asked this morning about this, HIQA's chief inspector was nothing short of evasive. People need to know the extent of abuse in nursing homes. We need assurances that HIQA is capable of investigating and effectively addressing abuse. The horror stories of private nursing home facilities are spreading. We are all hearing them. Will the Taoiseach tell us how many Audeon Guys are suffering in silence throughout the country today?”
“The process in place for escalating complaints, in particular, remains really unclear. HIQA's sole tool for responding to complaints appears to be restricting admissions, short of making a report to the Garda. What use is restricting admissions for those already resident in a home? Shockingly, it seems that an impugned home arguably has more authority to lift the restriction than even HIQA does. There is an issue about consequences. Serious concerns therefore remain about HIQA's capacity to keep nursing home residents safe. There is also a pressing issue which arises from this morning's hearing. The report HIQA published last night gave the impression that the organisation was not on notice of all that the RTÉ team had unveiled prior to broadcast, and that the HIQA team did not know about it in advance.”
“Faith in the system of inspections has also been greatly damaged in this time. Unfortunately, the presentations of HIQA's CEO and chief inspectors at this morning's health committee have raised more questions than answers about the system of inspection and oversight. Residents of nursing homes deserves security, safety and dignity. That is all any of us want for ourselves and for our loved ones. We want to know that complaints will be taken seriously, that there will be zero tolerance of abuse, and that there will be real consequences for those who carry out abuse or for the management of nursing homes where abuse is carried out and facilitated. The presentations made before today's meeting of the health committee will not have reassured anyone. Inconsistencies permeate in the interim report and in the opening statement.”
“Last week on Wednesday, and again on Thursday, I and Deputy Sherlock raised on Leaders' Questions the scandal of abuse in nursing homes. We sought assurances from the Taoiseach on Wednesday and from the Tánaiste on Thursday in respect of protections against abuse. This week again we see more serious concerns raised, with HIQA's interim report released last night revealing to us that HIQA had heard of the 200 allegations of abuse against residents in Beneavin Manor made since 2022 and 40 more were disclosed in respect of residents in Portlaoise. It is no exaggeration to say that trust in the model of private and for-profit nursing home care has been shattered since Aoife Hegarty and her RTÉ team broadcast the coverage of abuse and neglect of residents in those homes.”
“I understand those countries include Israel. In light of what Israel is doing on the world stage and in Gaza, will Ireland be participating in that meeting with Israel? Has the Taoiseach called for Israel not to be included in that meeting? Closer to home, I also want to ask about a story that has been highlighted by my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, on concerns about the control of firearms in Ireland, in particular with how the Garda Commissioner handled the incident around a controlled delivery to a vulnerable young man. Deputy Kelly has also raised issues with holsters and the storage of weapons in Garda headquarters. Is the Taoiseach satisfied with the Commissioner and with An Garda Síochána's handling of these matters?”
“In December 2022, I wrote to the Taoiseach, who was the then Tánaiste, and the then Taoiseach, former Deputy Leo Varadkar, seeking updates on the national security strategy and also seeking briefings for Opposition leaders on national security, as is standard in many countries. That was in the context of Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, the cyberattack on the HSE and reports of Russian spies in Ireland. Since then, desperately sadly and tragically, we have seen 20 months of Israel's genocidal bombardment and onslaught upon the people of Gaza and, most recently, an escalating war in the Middle East with Israel now openly attacking Iran. I urge restraint, as I know the Taoiseach has done, from both Israel and Iran. I ask this because EU foreign ministers are to meet with southern neighbourhood countries next Monday, 23 June.”
“It is somewhat ironic that the chief executive officer of An Post was the independent chair of the task force, yet An Post has been closing postal services in Dublin city. I speak particularly about Rathmines post office, which was in an iconic 1934 building in the heart of Rathmines. We have just learned it is to be closed by An Post, with the service to be moved elsewhere and, apparently, the building to be put up for sale. This sends an unfortunate signal to communities. We are seeing face-to-face public services close and iconic public realm buildings being put up for sale to the private sector. That is a loss to the community. We have seen the loss of Citizens Information Board face-to-face services, and this in turn has a negative impact on the public realm. What does the Taoiseach propose to do about this?”
“I have two questions about the task force. We see a huge number of issues in Dublin that need to be addressed urgently. There is a deteriorating public realm, vast numbers of vacant sites and derelict buildings, mouldy and damp social housing, including issues with social housing complexes in my constituency, and a lack of joined-up thinking about keeping spaces safe. Given the need for funding to be put in place to implement the recommendations of the task force, will the Taoiseach consider allowing local authorities to levy a hotel bed tax if they wish in order to raise funds to be invested in local infrastructure? That is my first question. Second, will the Government ensure the maintenance of face-to-face public services? I speak in particular about postal services.”
“Everyone accepts that we must ensure the retention of jobs and that we have become a digital leader, but how can we sustain this level of growth? Is it credible for Ireland to keep allowing so many data centres to locate here? We, and others, have called for moratoriums until we can see how to square the circle.”
“There is a real concern that we will be simply unable to meet our targets. Figures from the CSO, published last week, show 22% of Ireland's electricity in 2024 was consumed by data centres and that demand had increased by 10% in one year. We recently saw the Secretary General of the Department of the environment raising concerns about the potential conflict between expanding data centres and meeting housing needs, particularly due to climate targets and energy demands. It seems that Ireland must now import significant amounts of electricity to power these data centres. The demand from data centres is driving increased natural gas usage in Ireland and soaking up any additional renewable energy as it comes online. How do we square the circle?”
“We know that religious orders have moved or are moving their assets to lay-run trusts, out of the reach of the survivors to whom they owe redress. Nearly a year has passed since the then Taoiseach and now Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, committed to working with me and the Labour Party to ensure our Bill would be passed. We have a Bill that would end that cynical invasion of accountability. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment that the Government will look again at passing the Bill?”
“I want to raise the pressing issue of institutional abuse. We know that survivors deserve justice and fair redress but for far too long institutions, and religious-run orders in particular, have been able to evade accountability for abuse carried out under their watch. Last year, we saw the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church recording more allegations of abuse than in any other year since it was established. We know there is still a great deal of historical legacy that needs to be tackled. Many disclosures have been made, in no small part due to the courage of many survivors who have come out publicly. I am thinking in particular of Mark and David Ryan, the brothers who precipitated the powerful "Blackrock Boys" television programme. I note the sad passing of Mark Ryan in September 2023.”
“Last year, the Government thought it would deliver 40,000 new builds. It came far short of that. Renters, those who aspire to home ownership, those who are couch surfing and living in their childhood bedrooms, not to mention the 15,000 people in homelessness, know the Government does not have a leg to stand on when it comes to housing policy.”
“Anybody watching will be wondering when the Government is going to take political responsibility for the housing crisis. He is the Taoiseach and is in government. His party and Fine Gael have effectively governed together for the best part of a decade and yet, he is resorting to throwing critiques at the Opposition for not building homes. We are in opposition. The Labour Party, as the Taoiseach well knows, produced a costed, detailed plan on housing and on the transformation of the Land Development Agency into a State construction company because only the State has the deep pockets that can underwrite the risk of construction. That is what I am hearing from builders and developers. The Taoiseach knows that to be the case. He knows he does not have a leg to stand on when it comes to defending his housing policy.”
“Rather than trying to catch the Opposition off guard or trying to govern by gotcha, why will the Government not take on board other urgent and ambitious proposals for reform and fix the housing crisis? Why will it not adopt our policy on protections for renters?”
“People will gather to send a strong message to the Government. It is time for a radical reset of housing policy. No more incoherent policy changes. We need to see the radical reset the Housing Commission has called for because only the State has the deep pockets necessary to underwrite the construction of homes at the scale that is needed. The Government must scale up its effort and ambition, not waste time and money on "Bertienomics" era tax breaks for developers or ineffectual apartment design changes. One promising policy that we welcome is an overhaul of the Land Development Agency, LDA. We have been calling for this for years in Labour. We want to see the LDA become effective.”
“It is clear the Taoiseach and his backbenchers heard it too because, suddenly, there was to be emergency legislation this week to give effect to the difficult decisions on RPZs without delay. We know the Bill will be rushed through tomorrow but there is still very little clarity for renters. There is very little clarity for any of us. We have learned there are to be no special protections for students or short-term renters. This has been incredibly difficult for renters. It remains difficult. People are living in fear of evictions, of rent hikes and of an uncertain future. It is the Government's chaotic drip feed of housing policy changes which is causing this uncertainty and confusion. That is why at 6 p.m. people from across the country will be gathering outside Leinster House for our national Raise the Roof housing demonstration.”
“It is hardly gotcha. Of course, we welcome decisions that are taken by the Government that we believe will fix the housing crisis. We support the extension of RPZs across the country, but not a hollowed out version of RPZs that offer no real protections for renters. This was not a gotcha moment for landlords because last week he gave them a generous nine months' notice of his mooted plans. The net effect of that was obvious. Some signalled their intention to hike rents quickly before their investment property came within an RPZ next March. Others, opportunistically, started making plans to issue tenants with a notice to quit - racing the clock before the new rules came in. Concerns were immediately raised about this last week by my colleague, Deputy Sheehan. Labour Party representatives heard from frightened renters around the country.”
“After the general election, all the briefing from the Government was that it was ready to take what it called "difficult decisions" to fix this housing disaster. In recent weeks, it has certainly been difficult to watch this Government's chaotic decision-making - its U-turns, drip-feeds and hasty rewrites of flawed press releases. Undoubtedly, the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have made decisions as difficult for renters as they could possibly have managed. Last week, and again just now on Leaders' Questions, he gleefully said the Government took the Opposition by surprise with the pronouncements on RPZs.”
“The Government's rent pressure zone changes have caused fear among renters and uncertainty for investors and the Taoiseach's response to questions earlier provided no clarity. We got poetry - at least, one of the Government Deputies did - but we got no direct response. The Taoiseach said the changes to rent pressure zones will increase supply. Has any modelling been done to show how that will happen? Why did the Government pick March 2026 for the changes to take effect? If they are going to increase supply, why did the Government not do them sooner? The reality is that as experts tell us, they are more likely to lead to a slowdown in supply as landlords hoard properties pending the introduction of the changes in March 2026. Why was March 2026 chosen? Has the Government done any modelling?”
“All of us are hearing from older persons who are so fearful now about their own futures and those of their relatives, given the lack of safeguards in the system. Will the Government adopt the process that Safeguarding Ireland and the Law Reform Commission have so clearly set out about adult safeguarding legislation and ensuring older persons are protected?”
“I listened carefully to the answer but I did not hear anything substantive about what the Taoiseach and the Government propose to do following on from those shocking revelations. It is not just about HIQA failures. This is also about ensuring older persons have a voice. There is a blueprint there. We have a Law Reform Commission report from last year about setting up an adult safeguarding framework. Safeguarding Ireland last week again called on the Government to initiate a process which would lead to the enactment of this necessary legislation which would challenge that culture of systemic ageism. We have to call it out. It is that culture that has enabled the growth of this appalling for-profit system that has facilitated the carrying out of abuse on vulnerable older citizens.”
“This was not an isolated incident. We are all hearing this. I am aware of one nursing home employee who has not received so much as an acknowledgment of her complaint to HIQA, five months after she submitted the complaint. Another person who contacted me was told by HIQA that it would not investigate the care received by her now-deceased mother and the ombudsman would not investigate. It was a substantial complaint. Among other things, there was an unforgivable failure to provide her mother with necessary medications. We need to urgently review the system. Has the Taoiseach confidence in HIQA's ability to review nursing home care in Ireland and how can families have any level of trust in HIQA reports having seen what we saw last week?”
“HIQA was set up to set the standards, to inspect and, indeed, to shut down non-compliant nursing homes, public and private. What we know now is that HIQA is clearly failing in this duty. When families are reviewing a particular nursing home for their loved ones, the first thing they do is check the HIQA report. That is what the family of Audeon Guy did. Families, in relying on information from HIQA, may unwittingly be putting their relatives in harm's way. Clearly HIQA practice is unfit for purpose and must be reviewed urgently. The Minister for Health needs to explain why it is HIQA that is now being called upon to conduct the so-called independent review of all nursing homes. That is particularly strange after it glaringly failed to identify abusive practices at Beneavin that some journalists and a carer with a camera found.”
“Older people are being demeaned, degraded and dehumanised in some private nursing homes, and profiteering is at the root of this. Some 80% of Irish nursing homes are private or voluntary and shockingly, just ten investment funds own one third of all nursing home beds in the system. An influx of investment funds in recent years has left our country with the most privatised system of care in the EU. Big corporations are profiteering from, in some cases, negligent care of older people who are mistreated in private homes, so that companies can make a quick buck. The residents of Leas Cross, of Beneavin Manor and of many so-called care facilities have, over the years, paid a high price for State tolerance of an unacceptable status quo . If we are honest, can we truly say we are shocked? I acknowledge some things have changed since Leas Cross.”
“It is 20 years since we saw distressing footage of conditions at Leas Cross nursing home. Here we are again. The scenes on last Thursday's "RTÉ Investigates" programme were deeply disturbing. Aoife Hegarty's team exposed horrifying practices in nursing homes run by one of Ireland's largest private care providers. I commend the RTÉ team and the whistleblower, Clare Doyle, on exposing those abuses. We saw awful footage of older people being pushed around, forgotten, abandoned and calling for help from their beds or after a fall. Often, residents were left to soil themselves and there were shortages of basic equipment like hoists, sanitary wipes and gloves. We saw staff making makeshift bedsheets out of incontinence pads.”
“What is the position of the Government on this matter and does it have any plans to meet the family? I think the family’s solicitor has pointed out they do not qualify as victims under the legacy Act so they are in a very particular position. What is the Taoiseach’s position on their request to meet him?”