Seanad report: The Health Service Executive (HSE) would develop as a matter of priority a common national approach to the inspection of nursing homes, Minister of State for Health Seán Power told the House.
The Department was urgently reviewing the 1990 Nursing Homes Act and the 1993 regulations to strengthen the powers available to the HSE. This review would have residents' rights and welfare at its core.
It would update the Act and the regulations so that any issues on employment law, staff training and so forth were reflected in the new legislation.
Mr Power said it was unsatisfactory for people not to have comprehensive information easily available on services provided in nursing homes. He would ensure the new Bill would include a statement regarding public access to reports on nursing homes.
The Minister, speaking in a special debate requested by Fine Gael on nursing homes, said the senior help telephone line which had been set up with health board support, had since 1999 received more than 10,000 calls from lonely older people nationwide. The confidential and non-directive service would now be expanded to operate over longer hours.
Brian Hayes, Fine Gael leader in the House, had a question mark over the people they were asking by way of tax breaks to run nursing homes.
He asked if it was right and proper that someone who had two very large tax settlements with the Revenue in recent years was being given the responsibility by way of a tax break to run one of these facilities.
"I think we have our priorities totally wrong in this area. I think it's being driven by some of the basest motives of all, profit," he added.
An independent inspectorate was needed as a matter of urgency, not necessarily to deal with the minority of cases that the Prime Time programme had highlighted, but so that most nursing homes, public and private, which were doing good work could vindicate their good names.
Geraldine Feeney (FF) suggested that consideration be given to the withdrawal of tax breaks where nursing homes were run in the despicable manner that they had seen this one run. "Big benefits should be withdrawn."
John Minihan (PD) said it was a sad reality that families did not always treat their older members with the respect they deserved.