A betrayal - Hiqa inspections questioned

In a country still suffering the consequences of asleep-at-the-wheel financial regulation it is shocking that a new report has questioned the standards applied during Hiqa inspections of centres where people with disabilities live.

Coming so soon after exposes of terrible behaviour in Mayo and possible in Tipperary, this report will unnerve the families and friends of those entrusted to the care of these facilities, especially as, according to the report’s authors, “a majority of inspections were announced, contrary to Hiqa’s own guidelines”. After all, if these homes are warned that they are about to be inspected, the inspections can be meaningless to the point of dishonesty.

There is no wriggle room on this issue and the Government must reiterate most forcefully to line managers across the system that they are responsible for the standards that apply in the homes they run and that they will be held accountable for any shortfall or abuses.

Anything less would represent an unacceptable betrayal of some of the most vulnerable people in our society.