Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice has welcomed today’s publication of a report into Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) processes but has warned that its recommendations will fall short of addressing shortcomings in the nursing homes sector.
Deputy Rice, who is the party’s health spokesperson, said:
“While publication of this report is welcome, it barely scratches the surface of the problems in the sector.
“Last year’s RTÉ exposé on nursing homes should have been a catalyst for change, but many of the underlying issues prevail. Tinkering around the edges just won’t cut it any longer.
“It’s undoubtedly welcome that this report recommends regulatory reform to reflect the changing operating environment and ensure that parent companies are held to account. This must now be followed by an implementation plan with clear timelines and actions for delivering each recommendation.
“However, unless the root causes of the problems in the sector are addressed, the issues exposed in RTÉ’s programme will inevitably resurface.
“Under successive governments, elder care has been turned into a commodity. In 1990, just 32 per cent of nursing home beds were private – now they account for over 80 per cent of all nursing home beds.
“There are serious problems with this for-profit model of elder care, in which international investment funds dominate the sector. And under this model, healthcare assistants (HCAs) – who are the backbone of any nursing home – are completely undervalued.
“The quality of care in nursing homes is threatened by a spiralling HCA staffing crisis that this Government has utterly failed to address.
A recent SIPTU Nursing Home Workers’ Survey found that 54 per cent of all respondents reported that staffing shortages are significantly affecting the quality of care residents receive. Only 17 per cent said they always have enough time to provide residents with the care they need.
“In 2022, a PWC report found that HCA staff turnover in private and voluntary services was 54 per cent per year. This is unsustainable and indicates that HCAs are completely burnt out.
“The Government cannot ignore the clear link between poor working conditions and the erosion of care standards any longer – but that is exactly what it is doing.
“Unless pay and conditions are greatly improved; safe staffing ratios are applied in private nursing homes; and the role of HCAs is professionalised, chronic understaffing of services will continue and will lead to compromised care.
“The Minister for Health cannot continue to deny responsibility for what is happening in large for-profit nursing homes.
“In addition, this Government must finally deliver on the almost decade-old commitment to introduce a statutory right to home care. We need a new model in which people are supported to age in their own homes and communities. Nursing homes should not be seen as the default option.
“Finally, we need to see progress on long-promised adult safeguarding legislation, as recommended in this review and in a recent report by the Oireachtas Health Committee. This must be a priority action.”
July 2, 2026