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Irish Examiner
10-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
'€100k stolen from dementia patient — but gaps in safeguarding law mean that gardaí cannot act'
A dementia sufferer had over €100,000 stolen from a bank account — but gardaí could not act because of gaps in safeguarding legislation, the Oireachtas has been told. The victim had no capacity to report the crime and agencies representing vulnerable people have told of the 'absolute nightmare' of trying to force action in such cases. The Irish Association of Social Workers and Safeguarding Ireland have warned of widespread neglect and financial abuse of people with disabilities and debilitating conditions. Safeguarding Ireland chairwoman Patricia Rickard-Clarke pointed out that it is over a year since the Law Reform Commission published recommendations to plug gaps in legislation but that change has not been forthcoming. Safeguarding Ireland chairwoman Patricia Rickard-Clarke said much of the abuse happens within families, especially financial abuse, with little oversight of who draws down state payments such as pensions. File picture The Law Reform Commission had proposed draft safeguarding legislation and pointed to the need for the establishment of an adult safeguarding authority to represent vulnerable people. Ms Rickard-Clarke emphasised that much of the abuse happens within families, especially financial abuse, with little oversight of who draws down state payments such as pensions. Fine Gael Cork North Central TD Colm Burke raised the plight of an elderly constituent. 'There was over €100,000 taken in a 12-month time period. And when I filed a full complaint with the gardaí they were not able to take action because he [the victim] would not be able to give evidence,' said the TD. Safeguarding Ireland board member Mervyn Taylor emphasised that situations like this are 'hugely familiar', saying that gardaí are often not trained to handle such cases. 'An Garda Síochána, as far as I'm aware, don't have a safeguarding policy developed as yet,' he said. Ms Rickard-Clarke said: 'The closed nature of nursing homes makes it exceptionally challenging for either residents or staff to speak up and report abuse or inappropriate care.' Sarah Donnelly, associate professor of social work at University College Dublin, and an adult safeguarding advisor at the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW), called for awareness of different forms of abuse. 'Our very chequered past history, in terms of Emily, Grace, Brandon, and RTÉ Investigates, is clear evidence that often poor care is constructed as not being institutional abuse,' she said, referring to recent scandals. She told senator Nicole Ryan that low staffing levels and bad pay for carers are the 'elephant in the room' in discussing reforms. Ms Donnelly echoed calls from all speakers for a single authority to oversee adult safeguarding. 'It's an absolute nightmare sometimes, even as a social worker in practice, trying to orientate who you should contact,' she said. IASW chief operations officer Caroline Walker Strong queried why nursing home residents are disconnected from outlets such as the GAA and public libraries: 'In other jurisdictions, the connection between residents and their local communities are nurtured,' she said. In response to Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane, the groups said there is some disagreement over how broad mandatory reporting of abuse should be. They agreed with Law Reform Commission recommendations for specified actions when matters arise. Read More Terry Prone: Abuse of nursing home patients has been going on for decades
Irish Examiner
09-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'Exceptionally challenging' to report abuse and neglect in nursing homes
Too many people in nursing homes or centres for people with disabilities are at risk of serious and often preventable harm, the Oireachtas health committee heard on Wednesday. The committee was meeting with members of Safeguarding Ireland and the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) and heard of neglect, abuse and widespread financial abuse. Much of the discussion focused on nursing homes in light of mistreatment of residents at Emeis nursing homes revealed by RTÉ. Safeguarding Ireland chairwoman Patricia Rickard-Clarke warned: 'The closed nature of nursing homes makes it exceptionally challenging for either residents or staff to speak up and report abuse or inappropriate care.' She said it was now over a year since the Law Reform Commission published an analysis of the gaps in policy and legislation. In April 2024, the proposed draft adult safeguarding legislation pointed to the need for an adult safeguarding authority. 'While the current focus is welcomed, it should not require an exposé to generate political and public engagement on the exploitation of adults in Ireland,' she said. She also stressed abuse happened within families, especially financial abuse, with little State oversight of who draws down pensions, for example. 'There is a lack of real understanding of what is happening at the coalface,' she told Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock. "I suppose in our culture in Irish society — particularly if you take older people — decisions are made for them, their money is taken from them and everybody turns a blind eye." IASW chief operations officer Caroline Walker Strong also focused on the increasing reliance on institutions. 'Older people enter nursing homes and rarely return to participate in community life,' she said. 'They are never again seen in their local restaurants, at their GAA club, or library. Why? In other jurisdictions, the connection between residents and their local communities are nurtured.' Sarah Donnelly, associate professor of social work at University College Dublin and IASW adult safeguarding adviser, called for awareness of what abuse is. 'Our very chequered past history in terms of Emily, Grace, Brandon and RTÉ Investigates is very clear evidence that often poor care is constructed as not-institutional-abuse,' she said referring to scandals exposed in recent years. She noted low staffing levels and bad pay for carers in centres and in homecare was the 'elephant in the room' when it came to making reforms work. Safeguarding Ireland board member Mervyn Taylor raised concerns about how large many nursing homes had become. 'If you look at that RTÉ programme, you will see effectively a hotel-style design,' he said, noting physical design of buildings impacts culture in any environment. 'Why are we talking about large numbers of people, some places are as big as the local hospital. They can be broken down to small units whereby people have to interact with each other, they can relate far better. That is good design.' Read More Rise in number of older people leaves Government facing major funding challenge
