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A CHARITY WHICH supports older people in need has said it wants HIQA to ensure enough resources are being allocated to spot checks on private nursing homes.
ALONE made the comments in the wake of yesterday’s news that the Owen Riff nursing home in Oughterard, Galway, has been taken over by the HSE after a failure to address ‘risk issues’.
Best practice
The charity has called on owners and board members of private nursing homes across the country to ensure that the quality of service being provided at their homes is “excellent and in line with best practice”.
A report yesterday from HIQA said that nursing home inspectors expressed “grave concern” for the safety and welfare of up to 22 residents at the Owen Riff Nursing Home, leading to the HSE taking over the running of the facility.
ALONE has also called on HIQA to ensure that enough resources are being allocated to carry out spot checks on private nursing homes and to ensure that swift action is taken to address any issues of poor quality service.
Seán Moynihan, CEO of ALONE, commented:
We are gravely concerned about the continuous issues arising in relation to the quality of service in certain private nursing homes. Excellent care provision in nursing homes should not be a privilege, but a right. We urge owners of private nursing homes to take full responsibility for the level of service provision in their facilities. This is an ongoing problem that requires swift and very decisive action to ensure older people who require the services of private nursing homes, and their families, can be guaranteed of the best services possible.
He continued:
It is unacceptable that residents in this nursing home found themselves vulnerable and victims of neglect and inadequate services. We urge anyone who has concerns about the wellbeing of an older person in a nursing home to contact HIQA or ALONE, and we can act on their behalf.
Inspection
Moynihan said that ALONE strongly supports the work of HIQA and the inspections of private nursing homes across the country. He said the charity urges “swift action” by HIQA on private nursing homes which are not providing an adequate level of service for older persons.
He said that the Owen Riff situation “shows the importance of checks”.
It’s something we very strongly believe in – we would have a quality symbol ourselves.
ALONE is concerned about people who may not have the family members there to advocate on their behalf and flag any issues. It has advocated on the behalf of people in nursing homes, including people who don’t have family members to look after them.
Moyninhan added that he felt there can be a “fear around complaining”, with relations being afraid to speak out about queries they have about nursing homes
“It is important that people have somewhere that if they have concerns they can express them to HIQA,” he said, and “take advice on what their rights are and what the rights of their family member [are]“.
“People are afraid to rock the boat,” said Moynihan, but said that people should report issues they come across and take advice on this.
Moynihan said that in ALONE’s opinion, the owners of private nursing homes and the people on the board of directors “don’t then come and say I wasn’t aware [of issues]“. He said they need to put “their own checks and balances in place to ensure that people are supported”.
He concluded that standards and quality should be a given, rather than something to be worked towards.
It shouldn’t be something that people think, ‘Oh well, I’d need more money to do that’ [about].
ALONE can be contacted on 01 679 1032, or via www.alone.ie.
Abolish the LPT occupied home tax and implement the law taxing over 183,000 vacant homes. https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/empty-homes
@Sean Byrne: as you have linked to a UK site is the law you refer too applicable to the UK or Ireland?
@D. Memery: Maybe you should actually read the article first? It’s quite interesting in fairness.
@D. Memery: Ireland; There is a Vacancy Tax under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, 2015. Under this Act, from 1 January 2017 each local authority is obliged to introduce a vacant site register. With impunity, many councils refuse to comply with this law. As an example, reported in the 2016 census, County Galway had 10’279 vacant properties. The link at the bottom of this page; http://www.galway.ie/en/services/planning/planspolicy/vacantsites/ points to; http://www.galway.ie/en/media/Vacant%20Sites%20Template.docx, which is an empty template document and not a vacant register.
@Lee King Buckett: I did, but the article doesn’t make any mention of a vacant property tax, hence why I asked as a follow on to the link. Did you read the article?
@Sean Byrne: thanks
@D. Memery: Yes I did – it’s a source for the 183,000 vacant properties the OP referred to.
There’s no mention of any tax whatsoever in there nor did the OP mention any law at all so your comment confused me.
@Sean Byrne:
Revenue are guilty of maladministration by their coercing people to pay this despicable tax on their family homes which is contrary to all Canons of Taxation.
Revenue don’t collect taxes on other basic needs like : food, water, medicines, education, healthcare, clothes etc .. so why tax shelter (family homes) … a basic human need, essential to life.
Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
The Irish need to wake up …
https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes
Time to get rid of this silly recession-era tax. Fine Gael lied back in 2011 before they got into power saying they wouldn’t bring in property tax and as soon as they had a nice juicy five year mandate they brought it in anyway.
The entire ‘local’ thing is just propaganda, money goes to a central pot to pay for Zappone parties and national debt
@Quiet Goer: Most countries have a similar tax. Lived in France for years and paid two different property/local taxes.
@lelookcoco: Most counties provide services for the taxes that are collected. We pay again privately for our services here. You’re comparing apples and oranges.
@lelookcoco: and it covers bins and other services for the property
@Declan Doherty: All taxes pay for services. That’s how state finances work.
@Jason Walsh: Ask our UK neigbours how much they’re paying. Our LPT and bin charges come nowhere near their council tax and they get billed for water too.
@Reg: It’s okay to get billed for water, when there is a supply with clean water you can drink from the tap and accurate waste water treatment.
@Claudia Varell: I’m not against the principle of water charges Claudia, simply pointing out the difference in household charges between the UK and Ireland.
If 70% have yet to file for it, this looks like it could become another Water Tax. I hope it does.
@Zack Twamley: Or the age old habit of leaving things to the last minute. The vast majority already pay their LPT.
@Zack Twamley: If it does it’ll have to be replaced with a different tax
“It is morally wrong, unjust and unfair to tax a persons home” – Enda Kenny, 1994
This tax on family homes should never have been accepted. The only reason FG got away with it was because they got revenue to do their dirty work.
@Declan Doherty: Surely Revenue collecting taxes is their job?
@Declan Doherty: Agree.
—– RURAL HOME OWNERS —–
What Rural Home Owners get for their LPT Property Tax
No Mains Water
No Public Sewage system
No Street Lighting
No Footpaths
No Cycle Lanes
No Buses
No DART
No Luas
No Public Parks
No Subsidised Theatres
https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes
if You sign the petition an email is sent to Michael Martin …
@Thomas O’ Donnell:
Revenue don’t collect taxes on other basic needs like : food, water, medicines, education, healthcare, clothes etc .. so why tax shelter (family homes) … a basic human need, essential to life. Revenue are guilty of maladministration by their coercing people to pay this despicable tax on their family homes which is contrary to all Canons of Taxation.
Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
The Irish need to wake up …
https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes
Rang helpline today on 4 occasions told they were busy and ring back latet
The self assessment element of filing is difficult for people.This causes reluctance .
@Leonard O’mahony: yep. My dad is 80 and this is actually worrying him, even with me doing it. He’s convinced that if he doesn’t pay enough his house will be taken. He’s band 5 and he wanted to pay band 6 just to be safe. It’s a horrible tax. It’s practically two weeks off his pension.
@Jason Ebbs: My dad was the same. I had everything filled out he wanted to change it to higher band saying it’s better they owe him than him underpaying.
@Leonard O’mahony: There is a bit of a nuisance factor to it. They should have tied it in with An Post to allow people who don’t have a computer to take away a simple form with a free post envelope to return.
Even if they were worried about doing a bit of work, they could have posted a simple card out to each eircode with a punch hole system and a signature. They could have put the cards through a machine for tallying the bands against the eircodes with the signature checked if someone complains. (and this governmental big data trend is a disgrace, it’ll be a drop of blood for the DNA in twenty years time)
@Jason Ebbs:
Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
The Irish need to wake up …
https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes
Rang helpline today on 4 occasions told they were busy and ring back later
@Tony Mcgrath: 8 times?
Endentured slave tax to the grave
Why would anyone voluntary register for this ridiculous tax.
@Philip Cullen: https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes
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