The first independent inspections of all nursing homes will begin nationwide today.

A CHILDREN’S rights amendment would be a ‘living memorial’ to the victims of abuse catalogued in the Ryan Report, the Children’s Rights Alliance will tell the Government today.

A NUMBER of children in the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) ended up engaged in criminal behaviour, drinking and in the company of “unsuitable adults”.

ALL residential services for people with disabilities will be inspected against a new set of national quality standards to be finalised by the tate’s health services watchdog later this year.

THE care of troubled children is being decided on the basis of cost rather than what is in their best interests, according to the authority responsible for standards in the health service.

At its annual conference this week the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors highlighted the need for an out-of-hours service for the care and welfare of children in need.

CONVENIENCE food replaced home cooking and there was no cleaning or housekeeping carried out in a home for troubled children during an industrial relations dispute.

CONVENIENCE food replaced home cooking and there was no cleaning or housekeeping carried out in a home for troubled children during an industrial relations dispute.

AN INSPECTION of a home for children run by the Health Service Executive found some had self-harmed, taken drink and drugs, and were in the company of adults known to the gardaí.

A CHILDREN’S home recommended for closure five years ago remains open despite being described as unsuitable and unsafe by inspectors.

THE Health Service Executive has been criticised by inspectors of a children’s home for a two-month delay in notifying gardaí of criminal allegations with serious child protection concerns.

A CARE home for children in Dublin has failed to comply with fire safety regulations since it opened in 2003.

A HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) fostering service in Meath is in breach of national standards for foster care by failing to ensure all children in the service have a designated social worker.

CHILDREN in care are subject to crisis management rather than long-term planning for their needs, a highly critical report has found.

YESTERDAY’S report that children in care are subject to crisis management rather than long-term planning is yet another wearying example of the reality of life in Ireland.

A HOME for troubled children is still in use 18 months after social inspectors said it should be closed down as a matter of urgency.

CONCERNS were raised by a state agency that teenagers needing mental health services are being detained by court order in a locked facility simply because they can’t access help elsewhere.

The State is spending almost €30 million a year on specialised care for 72 disturbed young people. The main issue in relation to this should not be the cost, but whether proper treatment is being provided.

PROPOSED health reform measures do not safeguard whistleblowers and represent a missed opportunity to adequately protect patients, Fine Gael claimed yesterday.

The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) this morning launched a report on the difficulties facing unaccompanied minors in Ireland today.

THE Government yesterday announced that the Dáil will be recalled a week early in January to allow the passage of two pieces of legislation aimed at nursing homes and residential centres.

A €30 MILLION patients watchdog has been jointly proposed by Fine Gael and Labour.

SAFETY and security measures are to be stepped up in centres for asylum-seeking children, detached from their parents.

HEALTH inspectors have called for the closure of a centre for vulnerable children run by the Health Service Executive (HSE) following reports of serious violent assaults on both residents and staff.

The Irish Nursing Homes Organisation (INHO) has condemned the Government’s failure to establish an independent inspectorate in the wake of the Leas Cross nursing home scandal.

A YEAR after the Leas Cross nursing home scandal, the Government has failed to establish an independent health inspectorate despite promises to due so by the end of 2005.

SEVEN nursing homes which were the subject of “the most appalling and disgraceful reports” remain open, the Dáil heard yesterday.

CHILDREN under the age of 12 in the care of the Health Service Executive are being housed in residential centres rather than foster homes - in breach of the HSE’s own policies.

A NEW body should be established to oversee inspections of crèches and childcare facilities, Barnardos claimed last night.

LEGISLATION to set up a repayment system to refund illegally deducted nursing home charges is to be published next week - seven months after it was first promised.

HEALTH authorities are facing fresh questions over the Leas Cross nursing home scandal amid allegations they were warned of conditions at the home nine months before they were made public by Prime Time.

Health authorities knew about care abuse of elderly residents at Leas Cross nursing home almost a year before a Prime Time documentary exposed it on RTE, Fine Gael claimed today.

The overall standard of assistance being provided to children in care is being adequately met.

THE Social Services Inspectorate’s (SSI) fourth annual report into conditions at children’s residential centres during 2004, which is published today, concludes that the services have improved but that quality differs significantly across the country.

AN independent inspectorate is to be set up for child detention schools, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan said yesterday.

USING physical restraints to control extremely disturbed children is unacceptable and ought to be severely curtailed by the health authorities.

THE growing use of physical restraints to control extremely disturbed children at a special care facility in North Dublin has been criticised by health inspectors.

A major economic research group is calling on the Government to introduce new tax relief benefits to families paying for nursing home care for their relatives.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday promised that legislation to establish an independent inspectorate for nursing homes will be published in the autumn — over four years after the Government committed to do so in its National Health Strategy.

Only 6% of child residential centres inspected by the Department of Health last year had proper vetting of staff in place at the time, a report found today.

ONLY half of foster careers who look after a relative have been properly assessed or approved, a new audit has shown.

The Social Services Inspectorate has called for action to improve the quality of care provided to children in care in Ireland, especially those looked after by their relatives.

ASSAULTS on staff and a high use of physical restraint has led to a call for a total review of behaviour management in a unit for troubled children.

Catherine Shanahan