Laois nursing home in Portlaoise faced drastic action over failings
Management of Portlaoise home took action after HIQA inspections
The management of a large Portlaoise nursing home was warned that it would have to halt admissions after inspectors found it was substantially not compliant with standards required under the law to run a residential care facility for the elderly.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) raised a red flag with the operators of the Emeis Ireland-owned Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home at a meeting called in the summer of 2025. The failings emerged from a series of inspections that were part of a nationwide review of homes operated by Emeis Ireland following an RTÉ Investigates exposé.
RTÉ uncovered extensive shortcomings in care at The Residence in Portlaoise and another home in Dublin, which are operated by Emeis.
The watchdog has published a summary of findings from 24 homes in a new report which hs been provided to the Minister of State with responsibility for Older People at the Department of Health, Kieran O’Donnell. Inspection reports about each home have also been published apart from those on The Residence and Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin.
Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home is licenced by HIQA to accommodate a maximum of 74 residents. Built as part of a major Celtic Tiger development in the County Town, this designated centre is in its seventh cycle of registration, with a registration end date of 31 January 2028.
Following the RTÉ programme, the home on the town’s Dublin Road was inspected three times between June 1 2025 and June 12 2026. The most recent unannounced inspection in April 2026. The first inspection was carried out on July 22, 2025. It found that the operators were not compliant with the majority of mandatory standards.
The report that emerged from the unannounced inspection revealed failings in eight categories, substantial compliance in three areas, and compliance with just two of the expected standards of care.
The report found care was inconsistent in July 2025 when 67 people were living in the home, which has 68 single and three double rooms, all of which are ensuite.
“Residents living in Kilminchy Lodge told inspectors that it was a lovely place to live, with one resident saying that the staff were 'some of the kindest people I ever met'. While it was clear that staff strived to deliver high-quality, rights-based care, inspectors saw evidence that a weakened management structure did not support safe, consistent delivery of care,” said the report.
Evidence of this was that there was no person in charge and no deputising since June 10, 2025. The person in charge was absent from June 10 and resigned on July 17. HIQA was not notified as required.
Based on the sample of residents’ records reviewed, the inspectors also found that significant action was required in relation to care plans. It also said the registered provider had repeat findings of noncompliance in this regulation within the three inspections before July 2025.
HIQA’s new report outlines what action followed from the July report. MORE BELOW PHOTO.
“Further to the findings of the inspection in July 2025, the registered provider of Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home was required to attend a warning meeting. The registered provider was issued with a formal letter warning, which warned that the Chief Inspector may attach an additional condition of registration to the designated centre if the registered provider does not come into compliance.
“The Chief Inspector issued a Notice of Proposed Decision to attach a condition ceasing admissions pursuant to section 51 of the Act following this inspection,” said the watchdog.
Activation of such a measure would have undermined the viability of the home. The warning appears to have led to swift action by management, as outlined by HIQA.
“However, this did not proceed to Notice Decision, as improved compliance was identified during a subsequent inspection in October 2025. A further inspection was carried out in April 2026 to assess if those improvements were sustained,” said the new report.
A report from October 8, 2025, found that the Kilminch home was non-compliant in all but one area of care. By April 2026, there were no areas of non-compliance with standards.