Natasha Newsome Drennan
Carlow-Kilkenny · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Rates of TB in the North are far higher than in the South and many outbreaks in the South have been traced back to Northern herds. Farming families are put under immense pressure financially and mentally when they lose a herd to TB. That is heartbreaking.”
“I welcome the chance to speak about the fiscal impact of the long-overdue reunification of Ireland. I also welcome the Tánaiste's speech. It is a pity that more people in the House did not speak up in the same way. For too long a false narrative has been published by those who oppose reunification.”
“We need to ask why the economy in the North lags behind that of the South and, more importantly, how we can fix that. There is no doubt that reunification will bring challenges, but it will also bring immense opportunities. It is time that we started focusing on those.”
“This legislation exists because of the advocacy and commitment of Jason Poole, whose sister was killed by her ex-partner, a man with a documented history of domestic violence. The research clearly shows that individuals with prior records of abuse are significantly more likely to offend, often with escalating severity.”
“I strongly welcome the introduction of the domestic violence register and fully support this Bill. It is encouraging to see cross-party support for its introduction, which is a clear sign that this issue crosses all political divides and demands action. The reality is that domestic violence is seldom a one-off incident.”
“Over the past 25 years, Amber has grown and become a safe haven for many women and children. For far too long, Carlow has been one of the few counties in the State without a women's refuge. Given the rise in calls relating to domestic abuse and cases of domestic abuse, that is nothing short of a disgrace.”
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“This is happening in circumstances where the time from referral to result for someone who has the money to go private is less than a month. This is very wrong. Budget 2026 leaves cancer patients and clinicians with so many unanswered questions, which is deeply worrying. Is the Tánaiste satisfied that public patients have to wait more than a year for their results when private patients wait less than a month?”
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The targets for mammograms in 2023 and 2024 were missed by nearly 80,000. On KCLR recently, I listened to so many women across Carlow and Kilkenny telling their stories. One woman told of her experience after being referred for a scan by her GP because of a lump on her breast. She said months went by without a single word from the hospital. She contacted the hospital only to be told that she was marked as an urgent case but that the wait for her scan could be up to ten months. The results of the scan took a further 16 weeks. That is more than a year for a potential cancer to be spreading. The emotional stress and toll this is taking on thousands of women is overwhelming.”
“We heard the Minister's own colleagues calling for supports for farmers who were struggling in every sense of the word. The sector is bleeding and the best that can be done by this Government is to stick a plaster on it.”
“At the same time, one third of our farmers are over the age of 65. This is not just a statistic. It spells out clearly the looming crisis for one of our largest and most vital industries. I have four sons at home on our family farm. They love being out working on the land. Farming is part of their identity but I struggle to see any future for them in farming. It simply should not be this way. The support should be there for all young farmers across Ireland. This is the third budget in a row where we have seen no meaningful commitment to support young farmers or to address the issue of farm succession, which shows that these matters are clearly not concerns for the Government. Last week at the committee, we heard of the struggles facing the tillage sector.”
“How does this miserable increase in the carer's allowance balance against the incredibly valuable work that Government Members all praised just last week? I put it to the Minister that €10 is an insult to the 24-7 care that thousands of family carers give day in, day out to loved ones. A €10 rise shows just how utterly out of touch the Minister and her colleagues are with the struggles that family carers are facing. Our farming sector is facing multiple challenges, from Mercosur to a demographic cliff edge. Macra na Feirme, which represents young farmers across Ireland, has spelled out clearly that this Government continues to fail to tackle the issue of generational renewal. This issue is clear for us to see. Ireland now has one of the lowest rates of young farmers across the EU.”
“For years, the struggles faced by family carers have been raised here in the Dáil and in communities across Ireland. Family Carers Ireland has told us clearly that carers' situation needs to be treated like a house on fire. Budget 2026 was the Government's chance to take on that fire. Instead, this Government has arrived with little more than a water pistol. Last week in the Dáil, TD after TD from all sides of the House stood up to praise carers and spoke of the need to scrap the means test. We spoke of the immense pressures on family carers, that families were at breaking point, and that carers were physically exhausted, emotionally drained, financially crippled and dependent on others. How does the Minister justify placing just an extra €10 on the carer's allowance?”
“It cannot continue to be yet another afterthought. Sport needs to be viewed as an investment in the well-being of our society rather than as a cost.”
“This Government has a clear inability to handle money. With one hand, it locks away funding for vital sports projects and, with the other, it spends hundreds of thousands on a single bike shed. That same money could have transformed a sports facility in Carlow or Kilkenny. Another prime example was the decision by the Minister of State's colleagues not to draw down millions in EU Brexit adjustment funding to make them available to Irish football. This could have supported the development of our own domestic football academies post Brexit. The European Commission stated that our League of Ireland clubs would have been prime candidates for this EU funding but the Government did not even bother to apply. A clear step change is needed in how the Minister of State and his Department view sport.”
“Every community in Ireland knows the value of sport. It is essential for our physical health, our mental well-being and strengthening community cohesion. Countless reports show the enormous social and health returns on every euro invested in sport. While the Minister of State and his colleagues are quick to jump on the bandwagon and praise the success of our athletes, they do so with empty words. The reality is that Ireland is near the bottom of the table for investment in sport and recreation among our EU counterparts. This Government builds up the hype with announcements of new funding but, in reality, that money is locked away from the communities that need it. Since 2019, out of €124 million allocated through the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, a mere €32 million has been drawn down.”
“These are parents who are struggling, fighting and sacrificing in every way imaginable. For them, being a carer is not some nine-to-five job. For them, it is 24 hours a day, hands-on caring, with little or no respite. Thousands of them do not even get the recognition of being a carer. Let us be clear: the State has not just failed these carers. They are shamefully failing those in need of care. I have stood with grown men and women who have broken down in despair because they want to stay in their own home and not be put in a nursing home. They want to stay in the environment they have known their whole lives. Families are torn between caring for their loved ones or paying their mortgage. Let us be clear: the carer's respite grant is not used for respite or holidays. It is swallowed up by household bills.”
“It should have been a day one priority for this Government. This broken promise ensures that thousands of carers, who provide vital work in every community, are left struggling financially each and every week. These carers have sacrificed their own financial security to care for a loved one. They stepped up where the State stepped back. Let us not forget that the vast majority of carers are women. They bare the brunt of the Government's failure. Their work saves the State billions of euro, yet the Government has pushed them into financial dependency, forced to rely on a partner's income just to get by. The time for words of praise has passed. It is time for action and the first action must be the abolishment of the means test now. Week after week, I am contacted by parents of children with disabilities.”
“I strongly welcome and support this motion. I worked as a carer for people with disabilities for 18 years. I have witnessed first-hand the invaluable work carried out by thousands of other carers across this country and I can say this: I, along with the carers who I worked with over those years, am sick and tired of hearing the Minister and his colleagues singing their praises in this Chamber. Enough of the empty words of praise. The time for the respect and support the Minister promised is long passed. We are nearly a year on from the general election, an election where the Government made a clear commitment to abolish the means test for carers. Yet, here we stand with no plan, no timeline and only more excuses. Scrapping the means test is not a complex policy puzzle. It is a straightforward act of justice.”
“It suddenly found a way to slash his premium by €280, which shows the attitude of these insurance companies. This is their strategy. They fire on massive increases to see what they can get away with and rely on our silence.”
“However, the cost of insuring his car - his only means of getting to work - is pushing him into debt. He earns approximately €300 per week and is only getting by with help from his parents. The country is crying out for more tradespeople, yet they are paid peanuts, only to be ripped off just for getting to work. He, like thousands of others across rural Ireland, cannot get to work without a car. Public transport is simply not an option. However, every year, the Government gives the green light to insurance companies to increase premiums and punish those working and living in rural Ireland. Another man I spoke to told me that his insurance premium has increased by €330 in the past three years. Again, he has a perfect record. He was able to drop into the insurance company's local branch and complain and guess what?”
“I thank my Sinn Féin colleagues for bringing forward this important motion on the cost of insurance. The record is clear. Time and again, the Minister of State and his colleagues in government show clearly which side they stand on. They have consistently blocked, stalled and delayed reforms that would lower the cost of car insurance. As a result, they have ensured that insurance companies are given free rein to fleece ordinary workers. They increase the cost of premiums every year despite no claims, no penalty points on driving licences and the value of the car going down. People who are doing everything right are being shafted again and again. I recently spoke to a young apprentice who is one of those ordinary, working people doing everything right. He is learning a trade, going to work and contributing positively to society.”
“Was it the Minister of State who sanctioned the issuing of these tickets or was it Bus Éireann? When questioned, Bus Éireann seemed to have completely buried its head in the sand and we got radio silence. When we contact the Minister of State's office, all we get is an automatic reply about how busy he is and he never actually responds. Does the Minister of State think that this total absence of accountability on his watch is acceptable? These families deserve a clear answer. Who is responsible for these tickets and when will we see sufficient school transport for schoolchildren across Kilkenny? I will not let this lie. Like other parents, I want answers. I want to know what irresponsible amadán gave the go-head to issue almost 80 tickets for a 52-seater bus. Come on.”
“It creates the impression that the Department only begins to think about school transport when the summer holidays begin, which is the very definition of "lastminute.com". This year was no different. There was chaos in my community because of promises made by the Minister of State's colleagues. Families were given tickets with promises of a seat for every child but the promise proved to be empty. Despite these children having a ticket, there was no bus for them - it was effectively a ghost bus - and then, suddenly, these tickets were revoked. I have to ask the Minister of State directly whether he believes it is acceptable to make such promises to families only for their children to be left with no bus despite having a ticket? Who is accountable for these failures?”
“We all know when our local school term begins. It is not a surprise. It is the most predictable event in our calendar yet despite all this notice, parents across Kilkenny and Carlow are left to face the same entirely preventable crisis in school transport. Year after year, the routes and student numbers remain largely consistent. This is not a complex, unforeseen challenge, but a basic function of the Department, yet the planning failures of the Department consistently become a crisis for parents to solve. This is causing untold stress for parents. Parents are left scrambling the day before school starts looking for lifts. The lack of buses is making schools less safe, with children jumping out of cars left, right and centre. These schools just do not have the capacity for such traffic every morning.”
“What will this Government say in ten or 15 years' time to children who are failed on its watch? What became painfully clear to me as someone working with people with disabilities is that this Government does not plan for these people to grow old. The Government does not plan adequate care for people with disabilities as they age into their 50s, 60s and 70s. It does not plan for who will care for these people when their ageing parents pass on. There is no plan for how to ensure that these parents and caregivers get significant respite. That is the hallmark of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government - little to no long-term planning. Let us be clear: this lies squarely with the Government. Issues will not be sorted if people on the Government benches continue to sit on their hands.”
“For 18 years, before being elected as a TD for Carlow and Kilkenny, I worked as a carer for people with disabilities, supporting them to live their fullest lives possible. The people I worked for are the salt of the earth. As many of us know, working as a carer is so much more than just a job. We grow incredibly close to those we care for. That is why it has pained me so much to watch those with disabilities and those who support and care for them being continually let down by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. From the cradle to the grave, they are being failed. Children requiring an assessment of need are left waiting for years to be seen. Parents are forced to watch as their children suffer, denied the correct supports at schools. They are left watching as their whole family bears the mental and emotional strain.”
“-----with support from their families. Now that we finally have a female Minister for Health, I implore her, woman-to-woman, to implement modern, fit-for-purpose treatment for women throughout Ireland because for far too long women's health has been treated as an afterthought by her side of the House.”
“Not only do we need adequate treatment, but we also need awareness in schools throughout Ireland to ensure teenage girls are not suffering in silence, that they know they are not alone, and that there is support. One thing that is echoed in the voices of the women in the Public Gallery is that they do not want to travel abroad for their operations or treatment. They want to have them here in Ireland-----”
“These women spoke of Ireland's utter lack of treatment options and the devastating impact on their personal lives. I heard from one mother whose teenage daughter has been forced to drop out of all sports due to the crippling impact of the disease. There are countless teenage girls throughout Ireland whose parents are being told by doctors that it is all in their head, they are blowing it out of all proportion and that it is just something teenage girls go through. These outdated methods from doctors are an insult to the women of Ireland. They are devastating the lives of these young girls and resulting in high rates of absence from school.”
“-----we need look no further than the treatment of those suffering from endometriosis. Despite one in ten women having this condition, there is currently a nine-year delay in diagnosis. This allows the disease free rein to spread, causing irreversible damage to organs. Three weeks ago Senator McCormack, Deputy Cullinane and I hosted a public meeting on endometriosis in Kilkenny city. Dozens of women attended and shared their personal battles with the disease. That meeting gave a glimpse into the immense suffering endured by so many. Far too many women across Carlow-Kilkenny and throughout the State are suffering in silence. Repeatedly, we heard about the delay in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, inadequate care and denial of access to proper treatments.”
“I commend my colleagues in Sinn Féin, especially Senator Maria McCormack on her outstanding work in raising awareness about endometriosis. If we ever needed a clear-cut example of how women are treated as second class citizens-----”
“This man's childhood could have been saved from horror; instead, the State failed him repeatedly, denying him the chance of a normal stable life and denying him a life surrounded by family, neighbours and a community who wanted to care for him. He was cast to the wolves by the State. As important as redress is for survivors, the people responsible for robbing their childhoods need to be fully accountable for their actions or for watching on and doing nothing. I worked with adults with disabilities, who are some of our most vulnerable people, many of whom do not have a voice. We need a person-centred approach, one that does not retraumatise survivors. They have been through enough.”
“This happened despite neighbours offering to care for him and his family to keep them together as one. The State intervened and said no. The State ensured the family was torn apart and sent to a boarding school. As the survivor told me, it was more of a workhouse than a boarding school. The horror and brutality he endured as a child is staggering. Seventy-two years later it still haunts him. The institution and the religious order that inflicted such brutality must be held accountable. The suffering inflicted does not just devastate the survivors; it ripples onto each passing generation. The children of these survivors are left shouldering that emotional burden too. We have heard the Ministers promise this before. Now, we need action.”
“This commission to investigate historical sexual abuse in schools is very much welcomed but it is long overdue. With every year of delay, survivors grow older and the risk of evidence being lost increases. Thousands of children across the State were failed by those entrusted to protect and raise them. Not only were they failed but their entire childhood was ripped away and destroyed. It is vital that survivors play a central role in this commission. It must be survivor-centred. While the commission represents progress, I am extremely disappointed that physical abuse is excluded. The Minister must address this point and clarify why this decision was made. Recently, I met a man who was failed by the State 72 years ago. After the tragic loss of his mother, he and his sibling were placed under the supported care of the Sisters of Charity.”
“I wish to raise the case of a woman in Kilkenny who is unable to work due to cancer treatment and who has struggled with her mortgage as a result. Her mortgage was then sold off, without any consultation, by PTSB to Mars Capital, as it was labelled "under performing". Zero compassion or understanding was shown by PTSB, a majority State-owned bank. This is an outrageous practice by PTSB, selling off the mortgages of struggling cancer patients to vulture funds. This woman is still unable to work but her interest rate has now shot up to over 6%, more than double the current market rate. There must be an investigation into the outrageous pricing practices of these vulture funds and an end to the sale of mortgages without the consent of holders who are struggling with health issues.”
“He spoke of women having children and how the children were born starving. The mothers are lucky to get fed once a day. The most natural thing for a baby is to get its mother's milk. The mothers cannot provide milk for their own children. These children and their parents are dying from starvation. They cannot even get the basic necessity - baby formula - in to save them. They have enough fuel to cook once a day if they are lucky enough to get something to eat. Imagine one's own children begging for food. Imagine what that is doing to people's mental health. It is shocking. Albert Einstein said "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." That is what is happening. We are not doing enough. Children are owed so much more than another day of this war. It is time to act.”
“As usual with large corporations, profit reigns supreme. They show little or no regard for human rights violations in business partnership. The public stands with us. The overwhelming majority want the occupied territories Bill enacted. Even Government Members agree. Find some backbone, do what is right, enact the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill and not the Government's watered-down version and put an end to arms being transported to Israel via Shannon Airport. People in Gaza are risking their lives to retrieve food. Israel is weaponising starvation to lure them in to kill them. Do they just sit in their tents and starve to death or die trying to get food? It is like putting cheese on a mousetrap. There is only one way it is going to end. This morning, I listened to a paediatrician on the radio.”
“The Government will not even stop arms being transported via Ireland. We saw decisive action against Russia over its illegal invasion of Ukraine and war crimes but even now, after all the slaughter of Palestinians, the EU still cannot unite to say enough is enough. Tomorrow, the UN will publish a report naming companies that play a vital role in Israel's genocide in Gaza and its brutal apartheid system across Israel and the West Bank. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon give Israel, through their database, free reign to maintain surveillance across the police state. These companies have all eagerly recruited staff from Israeli military intelligence. Global insurance companies like Allianz and Axa have invested heavily in shares and bonds linked to Israel's occupation. These are household names in Ireland.”
“So far today, over 40 Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israeli airstrikes. In the past two days, over 250 Palestinians have been killed. A large number of these people were murdered while seeking aid from aid stations. Even Israeli media is reporting accounts from soldiers operating near these stations that they are being ordered to shoot civilians seeking aid. In the West Bank, Israeli forces are evicting Palestinian families and demolishing their homes to make way for more illegal Israeli settlements. International law in the Middle East has been ripped to shreds by the Israeli Government. War crimes are taking place daily, yet this Government and our EU counterparts have failed to find any backbone or take a stand against Israel. Worse, Ireland and the EU continue trading and doing business with Israel.”
“Throughout Kilkenny, there are major ongoing issues with the school transport scheme. In Gowran, the Department advised last year that another school bus be added due to the increase in the population, but still no additional bus service has been allocated. In my own area of Ballyhale, families like my own have been pushed to send children to school outside of their parish, despite the school bus collecting their neighbours. There needs to be a parish rule in order that children can attend the primary school in their local community. Year in, year out we face the same challenges with the school transport scheme. Something is clearly not working. Will the Minister step in to ensure that bus services are in place for the coming school term? It is just mayhem at the school gates.”
“Speaking as a carer, this is not what we want. I was in the public sector. HIQA had the authority to come into our place. There were two HIQA inspectors for three residents. We cannot expect two HIQA inspectors to go into a nursing home with 90, 70 or however many patients. There have to be more.”
“It is now three weeks since the "RTÉ Investigates" report. What will it take to finally see some action from the Government? More than 80% of nursing home beds are provided by the private sector. This is the Government's answer to everything but it is simply not working. What we have seen on RTÉ is just the tip of the iceberg. I certainly would not like to end up in one of these nursing homes, nor would I want one of my loved ones to be treated like an animal. If I treated the animals on our farm badly, with dirty beds, starving them, etc., I would be prosecuted. Why are people treated with such neglect, calling and pleading to use the bathroom and left to lie in their own urine as punishment? Is this where our Government is at, letting big business make huge profits by mistreating our older people?”
“Safeguarding teams and social workers must be given a legal right of entry and be permitted to investigate concerns, unannounced, at any time. Furthermore, where management and corporation leadership make decisions that lead to poor quality care and the loss of the health or life of residents in the care of the service for which they are responsible, there must be accountability. We need to see a step change in Government policy, one that will invest in building capacity in public nursing homes and residential homes. Sinn Féin has proposed a home first approach to care, backed by a statutory home care scheme that forces the system to redirect resources to home care. The current laws are clearly not working, and for almost 20 years everyone has been telling the Government that they are not enough.”
“There has been a complete and utter failure by Governments to put in place robust and effective policies and regulations. There has been a push for a model of privatisation, with fast and loose regulations, and a failure to provide HIQA with the powers it needs to effectively police the sector. We have seen scandal after scandal exposing these failures and neglect but what we have not seen is action from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. There is still no adult safeguarding legislation in place. This legislation must establish an independent safeguarding authority with real powers and resources to act on individual clinical concerns. There must be mandatory reporting of concerns of abuse and neglect. HSE safeguarding teams should be brought under the remit of this authority and these teams need to be significantly expanded to do their job.”
“There were residents with bedsores and bruises. Calls for help went unanswered. There were incidents of starvation, deprivation of liberty, a lack of dignity, a lack of respect and a lack of care. How did the operator get away with it? There was not a single cent in financial fines. Where is the accountability? How did it take an "RTÉ Investigates" report and not the concerns of family members and loved ones for action to be taken? What kind of message does this send out to families who have concerns about the care being provided to their loved ones? How upsetting and distressing these past few weeks must have been for the loved ones of residents in that nursing home is unimaginable. The consequences of successful Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments are being laid bare.”
“I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. All of us here at some stage will have to think about whether our parents will be in need of nursing home care. It is a very difficult and uncomfortable conversation for any family. It is something we would all like to think our parents will not need but this simply is not how life goes. We put immense faith in these nursing home providers that they will show love and compassion to the people who raised us as they reach a vulnerable stage of their lives. The "RTÉ Investigates" report has shattered this faith. It showed that despite more than 200 complaints being made about one nursing home, no action was taken against it. The HIQA report showed clearly this nursing home was not only non-compliant but repeatedly non-compliant, with little evidence it was even trying to improve its standards.”
“We cannot lose sight that behind all these numbers and statistics are people, families, children and elderly people, left feeling lost and with a sense of hopelessness because of this housing crisis. This is, sadly, the most painful review of the Government's performance in the Department of housing.”
“This year, it has plummeted to 61. We have watched as rents steadily increased by over 10% this year, and it is showing no let up. The cost of renting is now nearly 60% higher than before the pandemic. I was delighted to see the KCLR roadshow programme covering the work of the local homeless charity today. We are very fortunate in Carlow-Kilkenny to have the Good Shepherd Centre Kilkenny and Tar Isteach Housing, because without them, God knows what would have happened to the hundreds of families left facing homelessness that these charities are now housing. The Government certainly was not stepping to the fore. Little to no concern is shown for the struggles of renters by this Government.”
“Has the Minister of State ever stepped back and reviewed the performance of Fianna Fáil in running the Department of housing over the past few years? I refer to a performance review, so to speak, because from the outside looking in, the performance of Fianna Fáil in the Department of housing is looking disastrous and in need of a complete overhaul. Across Kilkenny, we have dozens of council-owned homes left boarded up simply because the Minister of State's Department only allows an insulting €11,000 to do each home up. As a result, we see many of these homes being left empty for years. In my home county of Kilkenny, there has been a staggering 86% reduction in building commencements compared with the same period in 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, approximately 500 buildings were commenced across the county.”
“There was one person on one day for 24 patients. The final report involved two people for two days for 70 patients. That is not enough.”
“We must empower people to live full, independent lives, not only adding years to life but adding life to years. Last week, the Taoiseach defended the existing regulatory system. He said laws are in place to deal with this. Those laws are clearly not working, and everyone has been telling the Government for nearly 20 years that they are not enough. In my previous role, I was a carer for 18 years. For 18 years, we gave the best of care. There are people who are cut out for these jobs; not everybody is made for them. On what I have read in the reports, in my previous role, when inspectors came in there were two of them for two days. We had three residents. We had care packs. It takes a long time to go through them. I would have had 100% faith in them until I read those reports. I have read the four reports.”
“Care for older people, and for the Minister of State and me as we age, is in need of radical change. He should review the mandate of the commission on care and ensure it can future-proof the model of care for ageing and he must develop a comprehensive social care policy to support independent living. Sinn Féin has proposed a home-first approach to care backed by a statutory home care scheme that forces the system to redirect resources to home care. It is essential that the Minister of State get the statutory home care legislation right. The current Bill before the House does not go anywhere near far enough. Home care must be prioritised. This will have profound implications for the nursing home sector as the complexity of people's needs will rise.”
“Safeguarding teams and social workers must be given a legal right of entry and permitted to investigate concerns unannounced at any time, and where management and corporate leadership make decisions that lead to poor-quality care and the loss of the health or life of residents in the care of services they are responsible for, there must be accountability. There has to be accountability, not only at staff level but at organisational level. There are failures to govern safely, such as those identified in the "RTÉ Investigates" report. There must be a step change in investment in public nursing home capacity to reverse our over-reliance on the private sector. The Minister of State must also engage with smaller operators and community homes to see what they need to stay viable in an increasingly complex sector.”
“It could be any one of our loved ones suffering from it. Deputy O'Donnell's first job, as Minister of State responsible for older people, is to get safeguarding legislation done. The Government has been prioritising this for years but has done nothing. This legislation must establish an independent safeguarding authority with real powers and resources to act on individual clinical concerns. There must be mandatory reporting of concerns of abuse and neglect. HSE safeguarding teams should be brought under the remit of this authority and they need to be significantly expanded to do their job.”
“Over the past few decades, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have gutted the public residential care sector in favour of private homes. More than 80% of residential care for older people is now provided by the private sector and this is rising every day. That is not a criticism of private nursing homes. There are many fantastic local centres run by honest people who provide top-quality care. There are many fantastic nursing homes around the country but there are far too many homes run like prisons, maximising profit instead of making sure they meet people's needs. To even call what we saw last week prison-like conditions does these residents an injustice. These conditions are worse than prison and are a total deprivation of liberty. These are supposed to be people's homes but what we saw was anything but a home.”
“Each of our gestures, each of our actions has a direct impact on the residents". What were those impacts? They were bedsores, bruises, calls for help going unanswered, starvation, deprivation of liberty, a lack of dignity, a lack of respect and a lack of care. How did the operator get away with it? Is it because the operator knows how to play the system to make sure that enough staff are around when there are inspectors or visitors but are then cut to a skeleton crew when nobody is watching? It seems to know what to say and when to say it but does something entirely different when it thinks no one is watching. The problem at the heart of all of this is privatisation and the consolidation of nursing home care in large, multinational, for-profit corporations.”