Labour calls for urgent reforms in eldercare
Labour calls for urgent reforms in eldercare - The Labour Party
- State must take control of Emeis 27 nursing homes
Labour’s Health Spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD has confirmed that the Labour Party will use its Dáil Private Members’ Time tomorrow, Wednesday, 2nd July at 10am to bring forward a comprehensive motion to curb the influence of big business in the nursing home sector. The move comes in response to harrowing revelations by RTÉ Investigates into poor standards of care in Emeis nursing homes. Labour is calling for immediate State intervention in the operation of these homes and long-term structural reforms to restore trust in eldercare.
Deputy Sherlock said:
“Twenty years on from the Leas Cross scandal, RTÉ journalism has once again exposed distressing and unacceptable standards in private Irish nursing homes. What’s changed in that time is the scale. Back then, 30% of homes were privately run — today, it’s nearly 80%. That shift has created a system where, for some operators, profits come before people.
“Emeis Ireland, with 27 nursing homes, is now one of the largest players in the sector. What we saw on RTÉ was nothing short of a national disgrace. The State must act swiftly and decisively to protect the welfare of residents. That means taking over the operation and management of every Emeis-controlled home immediately. It happened during the pandemic — it must happen again now.
“There is a deep crisis of confidence in HIQA’s inspection process. While the current review of Emeis facilities is welcome, it is not enough. Families need reassurance that their loved ones are safe. Residents deserve dignity and care, not to be caught in a system that allows operators to cut corners to maximise margins.
“In the medium term, the State must begin a programme to permanently take these homes into public hands. We also need to stop big business from dominating the sector. The current model is not working. The care of our elderly cannot be left in the hands of profit-driven multinationals.
“This overhaul must begin with radical reform of the Fair Deal scheme. That means an end to opaque, individual negotiations between the NTPF and providers. Instead, we need clear service level agreements, ring-fenced funding for staff pay, rules on property ownership, and proper accountability across the board.
“We are also demanding new legislation to set minimum staffing levels and ensure fair pay across all nursing homes — public or private. It’s time to put care first.
“Labour is urging all parties to support our motion. The public has lost trust in this system, and rightly so. We must act now to protect residents, hold providers to account, and build a care system that truly values the dignity of every person.”
Motion re: Nursing Homes
That Dáil Éireann –
Notes that:
- investigative journalism by RTÉ has again exposed distressing and unacceptable practices and conditions in private Irish nursing homes, 20 years on since the Leas Cross scandal;
- the failure of State to provide sufficient public long term residential care places has led to the growing privatisation of nursing home care while the State picks up the majority of costs through the Fair Deal Scheme;
- 30% of nursing homes were privately owned twenty years ago, rising to nearly 80% now, with Emeis Ireland one of the largest operators with 27 nursing homes;
- ESRI research since the pandemic outlines the consolidation of the sector into larger operator groups and the decline of independently owned, family run nursing homes;
- there are serious shortcomings in the inspection and enforcement regime by HIQA with inadequate regulatory oversight, ambiguity in the application of existing powers and a lack of appropriate powers beyond the power to stop admissions or remove a license;
- there are no minimum staffing levels required in nursing homes, or binding guidance provided to operators;
- there is no sectoral pay agreement in place, and a 2023 PWC report documents a staff turnover rate in the private nursing home sector of up to 38% for nurses and 54% for healthcare assistants;
- the 2024 update to the Ombudsman’s Wasted Lives report documents that over 1,200 people under 65 remain in nursing homes due to a lack of appropriate alternatives;
recalls that:
- the French parent of Emeis Ireland, formerly known as Orpea, required a state led bailout in 2022 after the publication of Gravediggers, a book exposing the mistreatment of care residents, where the company maximised its profits and dividends to shareholders based on a complex strategy of drastic cost cutting and the maximum use of public funding;
- the Law Reform Commission published a comprehensive report on a regulatory framework for adult safeguarding in April 2024, and the Programme for Government commits to a new national policy in the health and social sector;
recognises that:
- the nursing home sector has become dominated by big business, and a for profit model will not provide the standard of care demanded by families and carers;
- with an increased role for home care support for older persons in future years, the profile of nursing home patients will become more complex, more dependent and in need of greater levels of specialised care in the future;
- increased powers and resourcing for HIQA alone will not resolve concerns about a profit-led model of care;
- the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of residents in private nursing homes;
- The Commission on Care for Older People is examining the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people;
calls for the Government to:
- take clear steps to ensure the State takes over the 27 nursing homes controlled by Emeis Ireland;
- prioritise the quality and safety of care of older persons in overhauling how nursing homes are funded and regulated, and provide HIQA with stronger enforcement powers;
- fundamentally reform the Fair Deal funding model for nursing homes, public, private and voluntary, starting with an end to the individualised negotiation process between the NTPF and provider, the introduction of service level agreements, ringfencing of funding for labour costs and the introduction of specific rules relating to the control of the nursing home property and operating company;
- legislate to ensure minimum safe staffing levels and implement the outstanding recommendations in the Covid-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel report and the 2022 report of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group on Home Carers and Nursing Home Health Care Assistants;
- require nursing home operators in receipt of public funding to recognise trade unions and engage in collective bargaining to ensure competitive rates of pay, terms and conditions;
- ensure nursing home operators provide professional development education for staff within working hours including mandatory safeguarding, infection prevention and control and dignity at work training;
- limit all new nursing homes operations to 84 beds and set out a schedule for all existing nursing homes to transition to an agreed appropriate size with HIQA;
- ensure the revised NDP includes a funded programme to develop new public long term residential care through community nursing homes to meet the needs of our aging population;
- implement the Law Reform Commission framework on adult safeguarding by passing the required legislation as a priority in the autumn and establishing an independent national agency;
- introduce a new Fair Deal for Care by implementing the long delayed statutory homecare scheme to support older people to age positively in their own home and community;
- adequately resource the home care sector to deliver more care in the community and introduce a Fair Deal one stop shop to support families and reduce red tape;
- finally implement the recommendations of the 2021 Wasted Lives report and commit to fully funding the under 65s programme office.
Marie Sherlock, Mark Wall, Ciarán Ahern, Ivana Bacik, Alan Kelly, Eoghan Kenny, George Lawlor, Ged Nash, Robert O’Donoghue, Conor Sheehan, Duncan Smith.