NURSING HOME SCANDAL: ALONE’S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

In the wake of the RTÉ Investigates nursing home revelations, shock and anger aren’t enough; these are ALONE’s recommendations for transforming how we care for older people. 

Dublin, 9th June 2025: In the wake of the widespread shock and anger that followed last week’s broadcast of RTÉ Investigates: Inside Ireland’s Nursing Home, ALONE is presenting a series of proposals for transforming how Ireland cares for its older people. To continue with our present system is not desirable or sustainable in caring for older people. 

This is a broad range of measures aimed at promoting the care needs of our ageing population and reducing our dependence on institutional care when living at home becomes too difficult.  

Seán Moynihan, ALONE, CEO Says, “Whether by accident or design we have ended up in a situation where we our model is over reliant on nursing homes as part of the continuum of care. The fact that most of these nursing homes are privately owned means care is being delivered with a profit motive and not solely based on the care a person needs. We need the priorities of an ageing population to be represented across Government by a commissioner for older people. This will allow for older people’s rights to be protected by one office. It will enable cross department work to be facilitated and monitored. Our suggested measures also call out more care in the community and a better model for housing outside of nursing homes. We need to look internationally for better models of care and address the situation of ownership urgently, given our rapid population changes.” 

ALONE’s is calling for the following priorities:  

• Deliver a commissioner for older people to work across Government to protect and promote policies for an ageing population. 

• Comprehensively review current regulatory framework for nursing homes and ensure HIQA is sufficiently staffed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all nursing home residents. 

• Deliver statutory Home Care scheme that gives access to all. 

• Increase investment in Enhanced Community Care to support people to age within their communities. 

• Set out a policy for delivering over 1,700 Housing with Support units and fund their development and operations to be led by Dept of Health. 

• Investment in more public nursing home beds.  

• Incentivise the development of small, non-profit nursing homes, to break the hold of larger international operators in the sector, to increase choice and competition. 

• Urgently progress safeguarding regulations with supporting legislation in the health and social care sector. 

• Implement the actions from previous nursing home reports around areas like staffing levels. 

Continuing Moynihan said, “We cannot allow the same horrific images keep repeating every few years. We must fundamentally change the way we age in our community by implementing and investing in better policies. We are 20/30 years behind some of our actions and policy thinking in this area. ”