Twenty-five people died at the CareChoice Nursing Home Ballynoe, White's Cross, Cork, in January and February. The death toll is one of the highest in the country since the pandemic started. This morning's edition of the Irish Examiner tells us that five of the families are seeking a group inquest. These relatives are deeply unhappy with the way they and their loved ones were treated and have many questions that demand answers. These questions include: why was a relative told that a loved one had Covid when they did not; why was a relative told that a relative did not have Covid when they did; why was a relative told that a loved one was doing fine and had just been out for a short walk when the resident in question was wheelchair-bound and had not walked in years; why were residents moved from rooms they had lived in for years; why was a promise of daily communication not honoured; is it acceptable that relatives be left uninformed for days on end in the middle of a Covid outbreak and that phones are left unattended for six or seven hours at a stretch; and is it credible that residents received world-class healthcare in a home where communications were worse than what one would expect in a banana republic? The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response last summer that the nursing home system had buckled for a variety of reasons. These reasons included competition between clinical governance and financial constraints; outsourcing of 80% of care delivery from the public sector and the emerging trend of corporate and international financial institutions taking ownership of large parts of the sector.

The nursing home at Ballynoe was taken over by the French investment fund InfraVia Capital Partners in 2017. InfraVia owns the Mater Private Hospital, all of the telecom masts on Coillte land and the stadium of Olympique de Marseille and it has interests in the expansion of the metro in Málaga etc. InfraVia does not specialise in nursing homes but in the maximisation or profit. Was profit maximisation a factor in the tragedy that unfolded at Ballynoe? Many relatives seem to think so. In particular, they point to the question of staffing levels, which they believe were not what they could or should have been. There must be answers for these relatives. HIQA, has carried out a recent inspection. Will the Taoiseach join with me in calling on HIQA to interview the relatives as part of this process? Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to instruct either HIQA or the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, to carry out a full investigation here which goes beyond a run-of-the-mill inspection?

Given the number of relatives and staff throughout the country who have questions and criticisms similar to those of the Ballynoe residents, will the Taoiseach support the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response's key recommendation that there be a public inquiry into nursing home deaths and the pandemic? This would be an inquiry that deals with the immediate issues raised by relatives and staff and with the broader question of whether our society can afford to continue with a nursing home system run in the interests of shareholders and the maximisation of profit.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of all those who were bereaved at Ballynoe nursing home. I understand that the particular outbreak the Deputy is referring to commenced on 8 January, which resulted in all 47 residents and 29 staff testing positive for Covid-19. Tragically, 21 residents died associated with that outbreak.

As the Deputy has said, Ballynoe nursing home is one of a chain of nursing homes owned by the CareChoice group. In line with the national protocol, an outbreak management team was convened by the director of public health. That team works with the Covid response team to support private nursing homes during an outbreak through the provision of a range of supports. HIQA has been engaging regularly with the provider prior to and since it was notified of the outbreak on 9 January. It is understood that the provider did not request any additional support or ask for any issues to be escalated. As the Deputy said, following the receipt of the statutory notification of 14 deaths between 7 and 9 February, HIQA carried out a risk inspection on 11 February. HIQA's inspectors review the arrangements in place for visiting, as well as records held on visiting and family engagements. The chief inspector will prepare an inspection report outlining its findings and this report will be published when the full process concludes.

It can take some time for that process to conclude and I will speak to the Minister for Health on this because I take the Deputy's point that the relatives are anxious for engagement and for answers on the issues the Deputy has raised. In particular, relatives have raised issues of limited visiting access, poor communications with staff at the nursing home and there are a number of issues that have been raised which deserve full and comprehensive answers.

More generally, in the context of Covid-19, significant supports have been provided to nursing homes by the State during the crisis. Some €90 million was provided last year through the temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS. That scheme was made available in 2020 and provides a range of supports to the nursing home sector, from PPE to infection prevention, control supports, training and financial supports. About 23 Covid response teams have been put in place in that context. Some €42 million is available for the scheme in 2021 and that will be increased if necessary.

On the broader issue, I have already said that when we emerge from Covid we should have a full evaluation or inquiry not only to learn the lessons but understand, particularly in the context of nursing homes, what happened and how we can improve the design of care for the elderly into the future. I caution that it is not as simple as the Deputy suggests.

I believe there should be a fully qualified social worker allocated to every nursing home in this country for the duration of the pandemic. Will the Taoiseach support that call, "Yes" or "No"? Such a social worker could act as a liaison officer with relatives, ensuring regular professional contact and arranging compassionate visits. The social worker would also act has a valuable pair of eyes and ears, observing what happens in these institutions behind closed doors. What happened in Ballynoe Nursing Home is completely unacceptable. Relatives were not communicated with for days on end and spent five, six or seven hours telephoning in order to find out what the story was with their loved one. I have made a simple proposal. Will the Taoiseach support it?

It is not enough to say that we will assess the situation when Covid is over. There is a need for a public inquiry which deals not only with the immediate issues raised by relatives and staff, but also the question of whether we should continue to have a nursing home system which is run on a for-profit model.

There is no excuse for poor communications between a nursing home provider, management and staff, and the relatives of residents. That should be an obligation of the provider. The provider should ensure there is such communication. Part of the HIQA inspection framework will encompass that dimension of that. That is important. We need answers in relation to the specifics here in this case.

We need to evaluate how the nation responded to the pandemic. Deputy Barry's point about private sector provision and public sector provision in healthcare and elderly care is a separate issue. In the context of Covid, one can certainly derive lessons from it. It is a much bigger issue - we should not pretend it is not - in terms of the broader financing of healthcare into the future, particularly with changing demographics. There will be an enormous bill for the State into the future. It is necessary, but how one organises and funds and provides for that is a huge question in itself and perhaps needs a separate exercise that could be collectively engaged in by the Oireachtas.