Firm action or even more hypocrisy? - Confronting the latest scandal

The inhuman, criminal abuse uncovered by RTÉ at Áras Attracta in Swinford, Co Mayo, focuses on a small group of workers entrusted with the care of a number of vulnerable people. However it shames us all and is an appalling indictment of our health service, especially those responsible for its management.

Even more than that, it is a terrible indictment of our political system and our tolerance of that system’s failure and our tacit collusion with it through either reluctance, cowardice, or inability to put in place measures strong enough to have the kind of influence that might have prevented the Áras Attracta outrage. That no one, not the health minister or the Health Service Executive chief, can confidently declare that there are not other Áras Attractas waiting to be uncovered — and yesterday’s report, once again from RTÉ, of what seems to be a very similar pattern at the Redwood Extended Care Facility in Stamullen, Co Meath, suggests there may be — can only deepen already grave concerns. The impact these revelations have on the distressed families of individuals in care can hardly be imagined. They are victims just as those abused by “care” staff are.

As with the litany of scandals uncovered in recent decades, the response is one of outrage and incomprehension that such horrors could happen in a society that imagines itself civilised and Christian. The closing paragraphs of the first act of the drama usually involve solemn declarations that measures to prevent a recurrence will be put in place quickly. Yet scandal after scandal shows that we have a long way to go before we can say we have done all we can to prevent them. Because we are human we will never have a perfect system but we need to do more than we are doing. We need to be far more assertive on behalf of dependent citizens.