February 2010

 

INCLUSION IRELAND AGAIN CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT

 INSPECTION OF DISABILITY SERVICES

 

• There is currently no inspection of services for people with an intellectual disability;
• Inclusion Ireland has been calling for standards and inspection since mid-1990s and has presented to Oireachtas Health Committee on the issue;
• The Ryan Report and McCoy Report have detailed abuse to people with disabilities;
• Independent inspection must involve HIQA;

Inclusion Ireland is again calling on the Government to protect people with an intellectual disability and provide an independent inspection regime for disability services. An independent inspection regime must involve HIQA inspectors. Peer inspection and peer review can be an additional support to these inspections, but cannot replace independent HIQA inspection. Inclusion Ireland has been calling for the introduction of national standards and inspection of residential centres and community homes for children and adults with disabilities since the mid-1990s.

The Child Abuse Commission Report published in July 2009, outlines decades of abuse in services for children with a disability. The McCoy report, published in December 2007, outlined abuse in a disability service in Galway. In Leas Cross, a person with an intellectual disability died. Inclusion Ireland is now asking how many more reports do we need before the Government ensures services for children and adults with a disability must meet a certain standard and independent inspectors are allowed to enter services to ensure standards are met?

In addition to many meetings with Government Ministers on the issue, Inclusion Ireland appeared before the Oireachtas Health Committee in December 2008 to discuss standards and inspection, and the issue was the main theme of its 2009 AGM. Inclusion Ireland was deeply disappointed in June 2009 when it was announced that standards for adults developed by HIQA, were only to be brought in on a voluntary basis, and there would be no inspection of services. This means there is no obligation to abide by them and there is no monitoring and no means of enforcement. 

It was announced in Budget 2010 that funding will be provided for an independent registration and inspection system for all residential services provided for children with disabilities. Nearly 4000 children with a disability currently reside full-time in uninspected unregulated State funded services. The Report from the Child Abuse Commission contained three chapters on abuse of children with disabilities. Children and adults with disabilities are very vulnerable and are particularly at risk of abuse and neglect, yet no inspectors enter disability services to ensure adequate care is being provided.

CEO Deirdre Carroll says:

“The Child Abuse Commission Report clearly states that children with a disability are very vulnerable, and many did not report abuse because of communication difficulties. These children were not only condemned to life in institutions up to the age of 18, but remained in institutional care as adults, unlike children without disabilities. These institutions were run by the same people who oversaw the regime they endured as children. Today, many remain in services without standards or inspection. 

“The enactment of the Children’s Act 2001 was intended to provide for the registration and inspection of residential centres for children with disabilities. But subsequent legal opinion said this amendment was not sufficient to cover all children with disabilities in residential centres. The Department of Health and Children has failed to provide the necessary legislation to date. Cost has been put forward as reason why inspection of residential centres for adults will not happen, despite new standards being developed and launched by HIQA. The bottom line is that the Irish taxpayer is paying millions for disability services that are not inspected.”

ENDS

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