I welcome the delegation. I remind the Ceann Comhairle that his predecessor used always say céad míle fáilte, the 100,000 welcomes.

On 31 May 2005 on the Leas Cross issue, the Taoiseach said that the "Prime Time" programme:

uncovered shocking treatment of vulnerable people in the units investigated. No excuse should be offered to defend what happened, as there is no defence for it.

Despite that shock and the promises the Government made, it is still failing to protect our elderly and vulnerable citizens who found themselves in nursing homes. Last week I raised the issue of Leas Cross and the O'Neill report into 95 deaths in that nursing home. The response was the normal response of the Government, like the three monkeys, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. It seems that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have not seen the report, have not looked for it and do not know what it contains. It seems as if the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and other members of the Government want to hide behind a legal wall and avoid taking responsibility for what is a fundamentally serious issue.

Early last year the Health Service Executive sought tenders from nursing homes for 100 high and immediate-dependency beds. Some 85 nursing homes submitted tenders in that process. All of these homes were evaluated. The second stage of that evaluation required visits to the nursing homes by representatives of the HSE. As a result of that process 15 nursing homes were awarded contracts for beds and 70 homes were unsuccessful. Deputy O'Dowd, who has been pursuing the matter for some time, has been informed that the process also uncovered nursing homes with a very poor service of care for the elderly. We have also been informed that the O'Neill report made a recommendation to the HSE in February which stated:

Residents (and their families) of any nursing homes that scored poorly in the ERHA tendering process in 2005 for Heavy Dependency/Intermediate Care Beds should be informed of this as a matter of some urgency, as there is a likelihood that there are residents with high or maximum dependency in all of these nursing homes.

Is it not a shocking indictment——

The Deputy's time has concluded.

——that this report has not been seen by the Government, has not been sought by the Government and has not been examined by the Tánaiste, given that last Thursday was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day? Is it not a shocking indictment that the report contains that reference and makes it clear that in the case of those nursing homes that have been uncovered by HSE inspections as having a poor service of care, the people and their families should be informed. Nobody wants to have a relative in a nursing home where care is poor. I ask the Taoiseach to instruct the Tánaiste to get a copy of the O'Neill report today. He should ask her to identify the recommendations that can be implemented forthwith and he should order the HSE to implement those recommendations immediately.

There are a few points of fact. When Leas Cross was uncovered, I stated that the position was entirely unsatisfactory. The Deputy indicated that nothing was done, but we closed Leas Cross. It went out of business. Even though it was a new building, because the standards of care and attention to elderly people were nowhere near the acceptable standard, it was closed down and Leas Cross has not been in operation since.

As I told the Deputy last week, I understand the O'Neill report is with the HSE. There are a number of legal ramifications arising out of that report which must be resolved before the report is published, if it can be published. However, that is a matter of legal practice and the Deputy knows that cannot be breached until it is resolved by the HSE. It has not been given to the Government. It is not a question that the Tánaiste can demand the report when the HSE, on legal advice, is dealing with issues. Obviously, the HSE will be aware of the recommendations arising from it and since last year has been enhancing its existing inspectorate and preparing for the legislation for the new health quality authority. As I said last week, the Bill should be taken in the House later this year.

The HSE has commissioned and sought additional beds from several nursing homes. It has done that successfully and has moved patients from acute hospitals into nursing home care. These are people who cannot go home owing to various circumstances. By and large their accommodation is funded by the budget of the HSE, which is a dramatic improvement on what happened previously. I assure the Deputy that any recommendations that come to Government will be considered. Our nursing homes are governed by fairly strict conditions. If people break the law — the law has been strengthened — it will be enforced and we will continue to do that. I will not repeat what I said last week when I outlined a whole host of schemes for the elderly that were enhanced last year, including the inspectorate and care for the elderly in nursing homes.

I am concerned about the ramifications of what the Taoiseach has said. As I stated, he indicated last year that no excuse should be offered to defend what happened as there is no defence for it. I agree and I want to help the Taoiseach if I can. I do not want the Government or the Tánaiste to hide behind a legal wall in so far as this report is concerned. I have quoted one section of the report which states that families of patients in nursing homes that scored poorly in the tendering process for high dependency or intermediate care beds should be informed of this as a matter of urgency. In that case, there is no legal wall which it is necessary to hide behind. Surely informing the families of patients in nursing homes with a poor standard of care, as identified in the HSE visit which followed the tendering process, should have no ramifications. Does any Member of the House want to have a relative or family member in a nursing home which has been officially determined as having a poor level of service to remain in that place for one day longer?

The Taoiseach does not need to state that there are legal ramifications or that matters must be brought before the Cabinet. I am bringing to the attention of the Taoiseach, as the head of Government, that the words I quoted are in the report, as Deputy O'Dowd has been informed. I ask him to see to it that the families of patients in nursing homes which have been identified as providing a poor level of service are informed forthwith of that fact. The Government should not attempt to let this matter drift behind legal ramifications before the report might or might not be published. The truth is essential.

It is the Taoiseach's duty to govern, lead and make decisions, and this is one decision I want him to make this morning in the interests of the elderly and vulnerable residents of nursing homes which the HSE has identified in its study as providing an inferior level of service. Surely there is no legal basis for not taking action immediately.

The HSE and the former health boards have always had an inspectorate to examine nursing homes. After the appalling revelations which emerged from Leas Cross, the HSE stepped up the number and frequency of inspections to make sure nursing homes were up to an acceptable standard. I understand this is the approach the HSE is following. We give a great deal of resources to the HSE for the beds it hires and I expect and understand that it ensures that those beds are up to the proper standard. I do not think there is any legal issue that would prevent publication of the O'Neill report. The legal issues are around individuals' rights and their ability to take action in cases, and they are being examined. They are not about the standards of care for the elderly.

I hope and understand that, given the resources we have provided for the HSE, it has been dealing with these issues on a more active basis than it did prior to the Leas Cross report. I will make that point again to the Tánaiste today. I have no doubt the HSE is doing that. If the HSE is bound to consult patients, I am sure it is doing that too. That is the function and duty of the inspectorate, which it should be fulfilling and, in so far as the point is made, I expect it is doing so. We are, now more than ever before, committing a large amount of resources to private sector nursing homes to ensure the level of care and comfort available to our elderly people is higher than ever. In return, the State — in this case, the HSE is the agency of the State — is entitled to expect the highest standards of care and attention. I am sure that where breaches occur they will be dealt with.