In the programme for Government, there is a commitment to publishing a national policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector. The Taoiseach states a considerable amount of work has been done. Given the revelations in "RTÉ Investigates" about our older and more vulnerable residents in nursing homes, can we please have a debate this Thursday on the issue, when the Taoiseach can outline where he is with this and when we will see legislation? Can we please all acknowledge that the outsourcing of our residential care for older, vulnerable people to international conglomerates has been an absolute failure?

Last week's "RTÉ Investigates" again highlighted the failure of successive Governments to enact safeguarding legislation for vulnerable adults. We were promised this 20 years ago after the Leas Cross scandal, in 2014 after Áras Attracta and more recently after the Grace report, the Brandon report and the Emily report. We urgently need to implement the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission report into safeguarding. The safeguarding Bill on the current legislative programme is too narrow in scope.

"RTÉ Investigates" made for really harrowing watching. We saw people treated without any shred of human dignity, treated like burdens. We need to debate this in the Dáil this week. We need to implement adult safeguarding legislation and mandatory reporting. We also need to deal with the fact we are the most privatised system in the European Union in terms of nursing home care. That did not happen by accident; it happened through tax incentives from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. That is the root cause of the problem.