Minister plans to report any 'potentially criminal' claims in nursing homes

Minister of State Mary Butler has promised to investigate allegations of neglect in nursing homes during the pandemic. File picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people Mary Butler is planning to report any “potentially criminal” allegations about abuse and neglect in nursing homes to gardaí.

The decision follows a meeting on Monday with families of loved ones who died in nursing homes and one last week with officials from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).

Earlier this month, Ms Butler promised to investigate allegations of neglect in nursing homes during the pandemic.

Vowing to “leave no stone unturned”, she promised she would “take a direct interest” in the allegations herself.

A spokesperson said: “Minister Butler has since met with Hiqa, the independent regulator of nursing homes.

“Reports are due to be provided by Hiqa to Minister Butler with respect to the nursing homes profiled on the recent Prime Time programme.

“Any further action required will be identified, following receipt of these reports.

“Where abuse is a potentially criminal matter, it is the full expectation of Minister Butler and the department that any such instances would be referred to An Garda Síochána in the first instance and investigated accordingly.” 

Majella Beattie, chief executive of older persons advocacy group Care Champions, said: "At Monday's meeting, I suggested gardaí should be involved sooner rather than later.

"If residents are at risk, something needs to be done about it as fast as possible.

"Often the first thing families know anything is when a Hiqa report comes out, many, many months after the initial allegations come to light."

Government to oppose motion

The Government is expected to oppose a motion tonight calling for a national inquiry into nursing home deaths.

Ms Butler has made it known to families she does not want a mother and baby homes type of inquiry that would take years to complete.

Instead, she is known to favour the establishment of a shorter inquiry, like the scoping inquiry in the CervicalCheck programme that Dr Gabriel Scally carried out.

Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane said he hopes whatever the nature of a public inquiry, the Government should not use the process of setting it up to deny families information on their loved ones who died.

He was speaking ahead of his private member's motion this evening which is calling for a public inquiry into why so many died in nursing homes during the pandemic.

More than 2,000 residents died — more died in the third wave of Covid-19 than the first two together.

Two of the deadliest outbreaks were in Ballynoe Nursing Home in north Cork and in Dealgan House in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Between 21 and 23 people died in those homes and their grieving families have been fighting to get answers ever since.

As well as a full public inquiry into the deaths of residents in nursing homes, Mr Cullinane is also calling for an urgent need for better and more powerful safeguarding measures.

Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s vote on the motion, he said the process of any national inquiry should not affect ongoing attempts by families to find out what happened to their loved ones.

”While the process is under way to establish a public inquiry, there has to be full open disclosure,” he said.

“Families that come forward seeking information should not now start being kicked into touch because there is an ongoing inquiry, or a process to set one up.

“The inquiry will be looking generally at all of the systemic problems.

“There should be no reason while that is being done that there can't be full and open disclosure to families of loved ones.

“The two can co-exist.”