ALONE shocked and dismayed by revelations in RTÉ Investigates nursing home investigations
Revelations show clear need for a fundamentally different approach to supporting older people in nursing homes
ALONE, the organisation that enables older people to age at home, has expressed its disappointment at revelations to be featured in tonight’s broadcast of RTÉ Investigates: Inside Ireland’s Nursing Homes.
The programme, which focuses on two specific nursing homes in Dublin and Portlaoise, uncovered shocking deficiencies in the care and treatment of older people, falling far short of the standards of dignity and safety to which we should all be entitled in older age.
Speaking ahead of transmission, ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the older people and the families affected by the events depicted in the programme; our support and referral line is open for anyone looking for independent advice on their options for care in their local area”.
Moynihan continued: “The details which have already emerged around abuse in the highlighted nursing homes should shock us all into action as a society. We are all entitled to dignity and respect, and it’s completely unacceptable for older people, who have contributed so much to society throughout their lives, to find themselves in the circumstances depicted in the programme. But shock and anger aren’t enough – the Leas Cross Nursing Home scandal was 20 years ago. This needs to finally be the wake-up call that sparks real change in how we support and care for older people.”
In August 2020, the report of the COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel made 86 recommendations, including for a framework for safe staffing and skill mix, a review of employment terms and conditions of nurse and healthcare assistant staffing grades, increased integration of private and voluntary nursing homes into the wider health and social care systems, and an audit of staffing.
As of 2025, the framework for safe staffing and skill mix is still in development and has yet to be fully implemented.
Seán Moynihan added: “This isn’t fundamentally an issue of a lack of expertise or resources. The vast majority of nursing homes in Ireland are privately owned, many by major multinational companies. Adequate standards of staffing and care should be a given in these homes”.
Addressing the root causes of the issue, Moynihan continued: “ALONE primarily supports older people to age in their homes, but that’s not an option for everyone. However, the lack of housing options for older people leads to an over-reliance on nursing homes as a solution to care. Just like the state and not-for-profit sectors, private operators need to be held to the highest standards of care. At a time when we’re preparing for the start of the new statutory homecare provision model, we need to demand and enforce those standards across all aspects of care for older people, so we’re not reacting in shock again a few years down the line”.
ALONE’s vision is backed up by the Housing with Support model it has designed to be more cost-effective than nursing home care for the state, and to provide older people with an option to live independently for longer within their community. After a decade of development, a pathfinder Housing with Support project was launched in Inchicore, Dublin 8 last month, in a partnership model which will see the Departments of Housing and Health collaborating on a scheme which ALONE hopes to see rolled out throughout Ireland.
Concluding, Moynihan remarked: “These revelations go to the heart of a crisis in how we support a growing and ageing population in Ireland. If we cannot provide adequate support and state investment today, in housing, healthcare or homecare, we’re going to be completely unprepared for a future in which a million people are aged 65 or over”.
“As a country, we need to look at the policies that are required, and the choices that people need to age safely at home. ALONE has never seen any evidence that the privatisation of social care services benefits older people or society, or even the government.”
“We ultimately need to put in place the safeguarding legislation that has been stuck in the Dáil for years, we need to put in place the right to homecare, we need choices around housing with support, and we need a stable nursing home sector that is fully accountable for the support, services and standards it provides to older people”.
ALONE advises anyone who is concerned that an older person may be experiencing abuse to call An Garda Síochána in the first instance; ALONE’s National Support and Referral Line is available at 0818 222 024 to offer guidance and support to older people in any degree of need.
Note to the editor:
ALONE is a national organisation that enables older people to age at home. Our work is for all older people and aims to improve physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. We have a national network of staff and volunteers who provide an integrated system of Support Coordination, Practical Supports, Support & Befriending, a variety of Phone Services, Social Prescribing, Housing with Support and Assistive Technology.
We use individualised support plans, to address health, financial benefits and supports, social care, housing, transport and other arising needs using technology and through harnessing other services.
We work to empower the whole sector of community support for older people through our Community Impact Network that provides Training, IT support and resources to other organisations.
