Institutions housing mentally and physically disabled children and adults are not inspected by any State body - despite major concerns about the standards of care on offer in them.
The disclosure emerged as a controversy erupted about the conditions faced by 250 mentally and physically disabled patients in St Mary's, Drumcar, a home run by the St John of God's Order in Co Louth. In a report, British experts warned that patients in the badly understaffed St Mary's were routinely placed in straitjackets and locked in at night.
Last night, the Department of Health said the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, would receive a report on the home after his officials meet the religious order on February 5th.
However, Fine Gael TD, Ms Olivia Mitchell, called for an independent inspectorate to investigate conditions in mental health residential facilities which are run by 160 voluntary organisations.
Opposition deputies will join a boycott today by some disability organisations of the launch of the European Year for People with Disabilities, by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in the Mansion House.
Defending the Government's performance, the Minister of State for Health, Mr Tim O'Malley, said €327 million had been spent on services for intellectually disabled and autistic people since 1997.
Ms Mitchell said: "Managers at St Mary's were forced to independently carry out this report because the Government does not have the inclination or the political will to even identify the difficulties."
Under the law, the inspectors of mental hospitals carry out unannounced visits to all mental hospitals at least once a year, and publish their findings.
Standards in nursing homes and children's homes are also subject to independent inspection, but similar rules do not apply to homes run by St John of Gods and other voluntary agencies.
"There is no inspection. There is nowhere for parents to go if they believe that they have grounds for complaint," said Ms Deirdre Carroll, general secretary of the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped in Ireland.
"We have to have a change of mind-set. Rather than having homes like these secluded away out of sight, the services must be brought into the community where problems will be hard to hide."
The Government funded 900 extra residential places for mentally and physically disabled people during Mr Brian Cowen's time as Minister for Health.
Last March, his successor, Mr Martin, agreed to the phased recruitment of 2,000 staff for homes caring for mentally and physically disabled.
In addition, the Minister agreed to pay nearly €8 million to cover debts incurred by voluntary organisations that had recruited staff without Department approval.
Father Fintan Brennan-Whitmore, director of St Mary's, rejected the suggestion in some media reports that all patients were locked up or restrained at night. He said restraint mechanisms were a last alternative under strict guidelines where clients risked injuring themselves or others.
