We go now to the Rural Independent Group, for whom the speaker is Deputy Michael Collins.

We often speak in the Dáil about homelessness and the horror of young people getting eviction notices, which is an horrendous worry on anyone's mind. Let us think for one minute about being aged 70, 80 or 90-plus, being in a nursing home and getting an eviction notice. This happened in August to 48 residents of a 68-bed nursing home in Belgooly in west Cork, which is run by a group called Aperee Living. Many patients in the nursing home were notified before their families were that they must be out within six months, which would be February 2024. In the past week, families have been told that HIQA is escalating the closure and intends to evict residents by 24 October. I have been helping families over the past few weeks to try to find an alternative nursing home. For the remaining 30 patients, this immediate eviction order is a step too far.

On Tuesday, 8 August, I appealed to the Minister of State with responsibility for nursing homes, Deputy Butler, to attend a public meeting on this matter but she was unable to do so. On Saturday, 12 August, as well as the Minister of State, I invited the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Coveney, and the Tánaiste to a public protest, as many of the residents of the home are their constituents. They did not turn up. I again wrote to the Minister of State expressing the urgency of the matter and requesting her to meet the families and me as a local representative. Three or four weeks later, on 14 September, I received a detailed reply stating her support for HIQA's report, which showed many areas of non-compliance.

In the final line of her letter, the Minister of State noted that she understands how distressed the residents, their families and staff are but that her priority remains the health and well-being of the residents. Where is the health and well-being of patients being considered in this situation? The Minister of State refused to meet with anyone to discuss solutions that could have been brought forward. Where is the consideration for the health and well-being of patients on the part of the Department of Health, which has no back-up plan in cases of an emergency nursing home closure? Words of pity do not work here. How can the State stand idly by while elderly residents are thrown out of a nursing home in which some of them have resided for years? There are some married couples residing there. Surely the State has responsibilities in these areas and must step in and take over the running of nursing homes when they close, whether because of financial difficulties or HIQA issues. We cannot stand idly by and leave families heartbroken as their loved ones face eviction on 24 October. Eviction is what it is. We are turning our backs on the most vulnerable in our society.

The Taoiseach must act by launching an investigation into Aperee Living's running of this and other nursing homes to ensure patient care comes first. I wore myself out trying to communicate with Aperee Living regarding the Belgooly closure only to be met with an iron door in its refusal to engage. That is a statement in itself. The residents, families and staff of Aperee Living nursing home in Belgooly are on tenterhooks eight weeks later. If I contact Aperee Living, I am told the person there cannot talk and I should go to the HSE. If I ring the HSE, I am told to talk to HIQA. If I ring HIQA, the people there do not want to discuss the matter. The Department will kick the can in every direction. All of this is happening while the clock is ticking, with 30 residents facing eviction in a few weeks and with nowhere to go. Is the Taoiseach aware of this crisis in Belgooly nursing home and, if so, what is his solution for the residents? Will the HSE step in? This 68-bed nursing home, which was run brilliantly until Aperee Living came on board, is now facing closure within days. We need answers.

I thank Deputy Collins for raising the very concerning issue of the Aperee Living nursing home in Belgooly, County Cork. I am aware of the matter. HIQA has engaged in a series of inspections of Aperee Living nursing homes, six of which are detailed in the publication of Thursday, 7 September. Across these facilities, the chief inspector is concerned about the registered provider's ability to sustain a safe and quality service. There has been ongoing regulatory engagement between HIQA and Aperee Living, including provider meetings and cautionary and warning meetings in regard to governance, management and fire safety. Further inspections have been completed over the summer period and further engagement with the group has taken place.

Many of these are unannounced inspections, which are an important part of any effective inspection process. Inspections have uncovered financial irregularities in relation to residents' incomes within six of the nursing homes and the chief inspector will use all powers available to her office to perform the necessary functions to investigate this under the regulations and the Health Act 2007. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, are providing the necessary resources to do this.

The inspectors who visited Belgooly were concerned about governance and management at the centre and especially when it came to residents' finances and the areas of continued non-compliance particularly for fire safety management, which had not been addressed by the provider. For this reason a restrictive condition was attached to the registration of the centre back in March to stop any new admissions until fire safety works were completed. This condition was put in place to protect the current and any future residents. At the time of the most recent inspection no substantial fire safety works had commenced. The report also found that other non-compliance from previous inspections were also reviewed. Further action is necessary on infection control, staffing, care planning, healthcare nutrition and residents' rights. Because of this the chief inspector has cancelled Aperee Living Belgooly's registration under section 51 of the Health Act 2007, due to persistent non-compliance with the regulations. Therefore, the home will close on 24 October.

Ensuring the welfare and safety residents when a nursing home closes is essential and the HSE has been informed and is working closely with the provider, residents and their families to assist the residents to move to alternative nursing home accommodation. In May 2023 the centre had 54 residents in situ and that is now down to 22 who are still present. Work is being done to find alternative accommodation for them before the nursing home closes on 24 October.

I thank the Taoiseach for the reply but I am astonished to think that the Taoiseach said he knew about this - and obviously the Taoiseach and other Ministers must know about this - but they have no solution. The nursing home is closing and there are 22 residents in that nursing home. They have no home to go to. The Government has no backup plan other than someone will talk to someone. As far as I am aware a six-month notice to patients is the very least. That is not even going to work here. They are being booted out after two months and the Government will just stand idly by and allow that to happen. Instead, some kind of a system needs to be set in place. Surely to God this has happened somewhere else in the country. Is the Government just abandoning people because they are old people who cannot speak for themselves and cannot stand up and say this is wrong?

HIQA has standards and we must respect that those standards have to be met. But if the standards are to be met in community hospitals funding is given by the Government to do that. When the standard must be met in a nursing home the private operators cannot afford some of these standards. Still, HIQA has no standards when there is overcrowding in Cork University Hospital or University Hospital Limerick or many more places. There are no worries about standards there but there are when it is the standards in this case. I do not mind that we stand by standards but these people need to have an answer here today. They cannot be waiting to be wheeled out in a wheelchair in three weeks' time and taken home, perhaps to a house here there is nobody left. The Government has turned its back on the people of Belgooly and its surrounds. I ask the Taoiseach to give me an answer.

I thank the Deputy. I understand that a lot of people, whether it is the remaining 22 residents or their family members, are very concerned about the situation. I certainly would be if it were my mother or grandmother. This nursing home has to be closed. HIQA does not cancel a registration lightly. I absolutely guarantee that. The fact that they have given such short notice should indicate to the Deputy how serious this situation is.

We are down to 22 residents. Residents and their families have to be consulted and given appropriate notice so that new homes can be found within the fair deal. However, pending alternative arrangements the HSE, either with the consent of the registered provider or if needs be by order of the District Court, shall take charge of the designated centre and ensure safe and appropriate care for the residents. At the moment, work is being done to try to find appropriate alternative accommodation for the 22 remaining residents but the power exists for HIQA to take over the running of the centre if that is necessary. That is an option.

I thank the Taoiseach. That concludes Leaders' Questions.