Dáil Report: A new inspectorate for nursing homes will be independent of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil.
He joined with Opposition leaders in condemning the ill-treatment of patients in the Leas Cross Nursing Home, as revealed in RTÉ's Prime Time programme on Monday.
He said that when one was independently inspecting something, it was bizarre to give a warning by ringing ahead.
"If someone is knowingly or unintentionally acting in such a way in any home, not just Leas Cross, giving notice means that what one is doing is not an inspection in any real sense," said Mr Ahern.
"There should be independent inspections. The inspectorate will be independent of the HSE. Otherwise, the HSE would be referring patients and also examining their situations.
"The inspectorate must, therefore, be independent," he added.
He said that in the case of the Leas Cross home, 21 of the 96 patients were private, but the home was not one of the newer homes to which people were referred.
"The HSE has been working for some time on the inspection of nursing homes through a common national approach, as having such an approach is important.
"In this way, we have the same benchmark inspection everywhere and existing standards are crosschecked against acceptable standards," Mr Ahern said.
No excuse could be offered for conditions at the home, and they could not stand over the facilities provided.
Following meetings earlier in the day, the HSE had agreed that a nurse-manager, supported by other nursing staff, would go to Leas Cross immediately and that a governors' board would be established, composed of a geriatrician, a GP and relatives.
An inquiry team would examine the issues raised by the programme and other matters, he added.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the RTÉ programme had revealed appalling care of the elderly at the home, exposing a level of degrading and humiliating treatment of vulnerable and elderly people which should not be tolerated in this or any other society.
"These people are at everybody's mercy at the end of their days. They built this economy when times were tough, and those who featured on the programme last night have paid through the nose for the privilege of being effectively tortured," Mr Kenny said.
The majority of nursing homes were of a high standard but, clearly, a number fell below minimum standards, and it was the Government's responsibility to ensure such standards were met.
An independent nursing inspectorate should be established, Mr Kenny added.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said he was "shocked, ashamed for the Government and ashamed for our society that what was depicted so graphically last night could happen in modern-day society".
The Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990, was insufficient, he said.
Mr Ahern said the 1990 Act would be reviewed urgently. Confirming that he had opened the nursing home in the spring of 1998, he said that at the time it was stated that it would provide residential care for up to 40 residents with single and double room accommodation in accordance with the policies of the Eastern Health Board and the Department of Health.
"Obviously, that is now a matter to be examined by the Health Service Executive," he said.
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the programme's investigation was shocking.
