Yesterday, following the "Prime Time" programme, the focus of attention was on the Leas Cross nursing home and the need to tackle the systematic and grossly unacceptable practices in place there. However, the issues raised by the television programme are of much wider import and relate to the abuse of elderly people in general.

This Government has failed elderly citizens. It has presided over a hopeless inspection regime that gives advance notice of inspection and does not carry out the minimum number of inspections required by law. Only 80 private nursing homes were inspected once last year; over 480 homes should have been inspected twice. The inspection regime does not have the power to close nursing homes where standards are inadequate and it allowed the Leas Cross scandal to happen. That scandal, by implication, drags down the reputation of all nursing homes, some of which have exceptionally high standards and provide excellent nursing care.

Responsibility for the inadequate regime lies with the Taoiseach and his Government. Promises were made in 2001 to introduce legislation to deal with this matter. Promises were also made to implement recommendations on elderly abuse. These promises have not been fulfilled.

Is the Taoiseach prepared to introduce legislation for a new, independent inspectorate in the coming weeks? Last December, the Tánaiste rushed through legislation to deal with illegal charges for long-stay beds. The Government should show the same urgency in drafting legislation to protect elderly people as it did in attempting to take 80% of their pension payments. Members on this side of the House will facilitate the Government in ensuring that the Bill is introduced and passed before the summer recess.

Hear, hear.

In view of the appalling inadequacy of the inspection regime, has the Taoiseach called in the Health Services Executive to ascertain on whose instructions advance notice of inspection was, and is, given to all nursing homes? That is akin to giving the question papers to next week's leaving certificate students. It is a complete failure of this Government to have introduced an inspection regime that is utterly inadequate. It is a further failure that it takes a programme like "Prime Time" to expose a scandal in a particular nursing home. There is evidence that the problems exposed may exist in a number of other nursing homes.

This Government takes the issues relating to the elderly most seriously, including carers, home help, housing, respite care and many other areas. We have shown our concern by our actions throughout our term in office and we will show it again in dealing with this case.

As I said yesterday, what happened at Leas Cross nursing home was unacceptable and was an insult to the residents and their families. It cannot happen again. Agreement has been reached between the HSE and the home that will bring about much needed improvements immediately. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for the elderly, Deputy Seán Power, met the HSE yesterday and arranged for a report to be drawn up on the position in the home. The changes that were agreed will be examined in a month's time to assess their implementation. Efforts will continue to ensure that care at the home is up to the proper standard.

I spoke to the HSE and Deputy Seán Power about the issues. The problem in the Leas Cross case was not a lack of inspections. There are ten inspectoral teams, based on the old health board system. That will be changed under the reform proposals introduced by the Tánaiste. There was no conformity in the inspection procedure and the HSE is now working to introduce a unified approach and to develop a robust inspection system that will be able to deal with difficulties in a unified fashion across the country.

When will that be done?

The HSE is already doing it.

It will be made up of teams of medical, nursing and environmental inspectors. As Deputy Kenny pointed out, there are inspections taking place in health board areas already. The strongest inspectorate, because it is a dedicated unit, is in the former Northern Health Board area, where the Leas Cross home is located. The inspectorate had been dealing with the home and thought it was making progress. It probably was making progress in many areas — I do not want to be critical of the staff who were acting in good faith. Inspectorate staff highlighted issues and asked that problems be rectified. Clearly they were not rectified and that was appalling, as I stated yesterday. Legislation to establish a proper inspectorate that will be independent of the HSE and deal with both nursing homes and children is being prepared. The legislation will not be ready before the summer but will be introduced in the autumn. That will not stop the work going on between now and the autumn.

I asked why nursing homes are given advance notice of inspections. In most cases, nursing homes are not given advance notice. However, advance notice is given of the first call to the institution. This is because inspectors wish to talk to the managers and owners of the home. They do not give advance notice because they just want to inspect the building. They want to inspect the insurance, fire certificate, the accounts and all of the other relevant issues. On subsequent visits——

If the Deputies listened to me, they might learn. When they come back——

They bury the report.

Please allow the Taoiseach to speak without interruption.

When inspectors come back on subsequent visits, they do not give notice. They come back to inspect the wards and medical facilities but there is little point in them turning up to check all the other issues when there is nobody there. This is the reason why they operate the system they do.

The Taoiseach's time is concluded.

The HSE also meets the nursing home association and works with it to improve standards. The HSE works with public nursing homes to ensure standards in them are improved because we readily admit there are problems to be rectified. The Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990 and the 1993 regulations are being reviewed.

The Taoiseach has given an appallingly cynical answer.

Hear, hear.

He has not answered any question and it is typical of his governance that while he is more interested in ticking boxes and defending the inadequacy of the HSE by saying it does not give advance notice of inspections, 80 nursing homes were inspected once in 2004, when the legal requirement is two inspections per year of 480 private nursing homes. The Taoiseach's answer is disgraceful.

The Government took a case against Rostrevor Nursing Home to close it in 2004. That case has been dropped. Why was the HSE not sent into this nursing home to do what it is doing in Leas Cross? Will Leas Cross be run by the HSE while still having the benefit of patients paying €45,000 or €46,000 per year when serious repayments were made to the Revenue Commissioners by the owners? If inspections of the nursing home were carried out, how did this situation come about?

Is the Taoiseach prepared to confirm that there will be no further notice given of inspections? Is he prepared to say he will introduce legislation before the summer, which this side of the House will facilitate, to protect elderly people? The current demographics of the country mean we are facing a crisis in the next 20 years in this area. Is he prepared to deal with the case of Rostrevor Nursing Home and others in the same way as Leas Cross is being dealt with? Will he point out who gets the benefit of the profits from the patients of Leas Cross who pay €46,000 per year for systematic abuse in a number of cases that were portrayed in "Prime Time Investigates"? This is a disgrace and it concerns governance by this Government, which has failed utterly to deal with the comfort, consolation and care of our elderly citizens, of whom we should be so proud but for whom we have shown such utter and appalling neglect in this case.

This neglect is typified by the launch this morning by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children of a document entitled No One has the Right: National Conference on Elderly Abuse. This conference was held on 25 November 2004 but the Government suddenly decided to launch the document today. The Government has thrown its hat at it and the public will answer it in due course.

Hear, hear.

Deputy Kenny could at least get his facts right as the report was launched by the organisation. I said yesterday that the conditions in Leas Cross Nursing Home are unacceptable and I have said it again today. The agreement reached yesterday between the Health Service Executive and the nursing home to bring about much needed improvement will be paid for by the nursing home and not the State. The HSE has dictated what needs to be done and what is being done. I said the governance of the nursing home will also be significantly changed. A clinical governance steering committee, with representatives of residents, residents' families and an independent expert, will be established. I said the Minister for State at the Department for Health and Children met the HSE yesterday to discuss the matter and will meet it again in a month to ensure that what was agreed at yesterday's meeting will be implemented. I said inspections had taken place and that the North Eastern Health Board was visiting this home. Inspections were carried out both with and without notice. It believed in good faith that the management of Leas Cross was carrying out the measures the inspectors had highlighted. They have now discovered the management did not undertake these measures and feel disappointed and let down.

Please allow the Taoiseach to speak without interruption.

Deputy Kenny asked two questions at the outset and said I gave a cynical answer when I answered both questions. He asked me whether legislation would be introduced before the summer and I said it would not but would be introduced in the autumn. I said that the proposed inspectorate will cover all areas. He asked me why advance notice of inspections is given to nursing homes and I explained the reason to him. I said that when inspectors visit the home for the first time to give it its three-year registration, they ask to examine all the issues, including accounts, staffing levels, insurance and the fire certificate.

Please allow the Taoiseach to speak without interruption.

When inspectors return for subsequent visits to look at patients and organisation, they do not give notice. If they are not satisfied, under existing legislative powers, inspectors do not try to close units but try to get them to conform to the highest standards, as they do in public nursing homes.

What about Rostrevor Nursing Home?

Staffing levels in public nursing homes are composed of both medical and clinical care and inspectors try to enforce those. If they believe either from an infrastructural or medical perspective, a nursing home is not up to the proper standards, they have no alternative but to move to close it.

What about Rostrevor Nursing Home?

In the first instance, inspectors try to get the management, staff and administration to rectify the faults that have been reported.

Why was the case against Rostrevor Nursing Home dropped? What about the HSE's role in the Rostrevor case?

In many cases, the nursing home is the home for the individual so the HSE attempts to ensure homes have the highest standards so people are not disrupted. If the home does not comply with the HSE's stipulations, the HSE moves to close the home.

What about the Rostrevor case?

That is how it operates, if the House is interested. The Government is trying to strengthen provision.

What about the Rostrevor case? The Taoiseach did not answer my question on the Rostrevor case.

It is time to send this Government to a nursing home.

Deputy O'Keeffe must allow Deputy Rabbitte to speak without interruption. He is entitled to the same courtesy as Deputy Kenny.