Care for the Disabled - 2 February 2010 (edited version)

Senator Rónán Mullen:   I seek a debate on how we are treating the most vulnerable members of our society, particularly older persons in nursing home care. As Senator Bradford correctly pointed out, this concept of a one-size-fits-all solution to the needs of older persons in our society is to be deplored. According to today’s The Irish Times, 10% of older people in nursing home care are there for social reasons while 30% of long-stay residents have low to medium dependency. It really should stop the traffic that there is no independent scrutiny of residential facilities for older and younger persons with disabilities. It should also stop the traffic that where complaints are made, there is no transparency in how they are handled. We read of cases where investigations took place but we do not know the outcomes of those investigations. We even hear of people, against whom complaints were made, being allegedly moved to another part of the service. Where have we heard that previously?  We should not play politics with this issue but focus absolutely, unconditionally and consistently on all vulnerable people in our society. With regard to unaccompanied minors disappearing, it is not an argument for the HSE to say there is no evidence that they have been trafficked. It is appalling that they are going missing in the first place. Any other comment is superfluous. Can we have a debate at the earliest opportunity on how we are treating the most vulnerable members of our society, in particular older persons and people with disabilities in residential care?