Legal reasons prevent publication of report on Laois nursing home in Portlaoise

An inspection report into a Portlaoise nursing home that was at the centre of an RTÉ investigation that led to a national controversy on the regulation of nursing homes is not being published at at this time due to ‘legal proceedings’.

That is according to the Health and Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), which has published the Forvis Mazars Review of Regulatory Inspection Process - Designated Centres for Oder People report. HIQA is also publishing 54 inspection reports on its findings and actions in nursing homes operated by the nursing home group, Emeis Ireland and an Overview Report prepared by the Chief Inspector for the Minister of State for Older People, which it says reflects a comprehensive programme of inspections across the Emeis group.

The Forvis Mazars Review was carried out following an RTÉ Investigates programme in June 2025, which uncovered multiple care failings and neglect of vulnerable older residents at The Residence Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in north Dublin, two nursing homes run by Emeis Ireland.

While HIQA has published a multitude of reports, it explained in a lengthy statement why it hasn’t published its Inspection reports on the Laois and Dublin homes, which continue to operate.

“The two centres that were the subject of the RTÉ Investigates television programme were among the Emeis Ireland centres which required increased regulatory action. The inspection reports for these centres are not being published at this time as HIQA is awaiting the outcome of legal proceedings seeking access to all video footage relating to the programme. These reports will be published at a later date,” it said.

No detail was outlined as to the nature of these legal proceedings.

The Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for Older People requested that an independent review be carried out following the RTÉ expose. HIQA says the purpose of the Review was to provide an independent assessment of the regulatory processes of HIQA’s Chief Inspector of Social Services, to identify areas where the Chief Inspector could improve and to consider whether the regulatory framework should be strengthened to reflect changes in the operating environment.

HIQA says the Review found that overall, its Chief Inspector’s regulatory and inspection processes are effective, in line with its powers under the Health Act 2007 (as amended) and regulations. It says the Review confirmed that the Chief Inspector’s registration and inspection activities follow a standardised and consistent approach, and are carried out in a fair and proportionate manner.

The watchdog says it was also noted that the Chief Inspector placed a significant emphasis on safeguarding residents through its specific programme of safeguarding inspections and, in line with its legal remit, it sought to hold service providers directly to account given their primary responsibility for ensuring for safe and effective care for all residents.

It says the Review identified areas where improvement is required, including:

• The inspection approach to culture and staff behaviour within nursing homes should be strengthened, particularly in relation to its relevance in terms of the lived experience of residents.
• A strengthened focus in all inspections on those areas that matter most to residents and their families. Areas for renewed focus include assessing residents’ involvement in decisions about their own care, promoting residents’ independence, and ensuring that the care and support for residents upholds their rights.
• Requirement for regulatory reform in key areas, including ensuring that parent companies or nursing home groups can be held to account by the Chief Inspector.

HIQA says that following the airing of the RTÉ Investigates show, its Chief Inspector of Social Services undertook a significant programme of regulatory action. It says this the Chief Inspector conducted a programme of targeted inspections in all nursing homes owned by Emeis Ireland and required the directors of the individual nursing homes to take urgent action with immediate effect to address the safety and wellbeing of residents. HIQA also claims that the Chief Inspector engaged with Emeis Ireland and requested that they stop admissions to all centres owned by Emeis Ireland with immediate effect while a review of the quality and safety of care for residents was being undertaken by HIQA.

HIQA says the regulatory programme included an increased number of targeted inspections and monitoring of all nursing homes operated by the nursing home group over time to ensure ongoing safety and sustained improvements for residents.

It claims that it also found evidence that some centres operated to a good standard and provided safe and effective care. The inspection programme also identified that seven centres had significant challenges in delivering safe and effective care. This required additional regulatory action which included undertaking additional inspections, placing restrictive conditions on those nursing homes, including a requirement to restrict the admission of new residents until further notice and requiring the provider to increase staffing.

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The Chief Inspector also made referrals to An Garda Síochána as appropriate. HIQA also engaged directly with residents and families on their feedback and concerns. As part of this, HIQA’s CEO and Chief Inspector visited the nursing homes that were the subject of the programme to hear directly from all residents and families.

HIQA insists that it is fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the Forvis Mazars Review to ensure that providers deliver consistent high-quality, safe and effective care and support for residents. HIQA said it is working with the Department of Health to publish regular updates on progress in these matters.

Angela Fitzgerald, HIQA CEO, welcomed the recommendations of the Review. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

“People living in nursing homes have a right to feel safe in their homes and enjoy a good experience and quality of life. Our role as a regulator is to ensure that providers meet their responsibilities to deliver safe, quality services and to protect residents. Where providers fail to do this, we use our powers to ensure that providers take action in the best interests of residents.

“As a regulator, we must always be open to critically evaluating what we do and how we do it. For this reason, we very much welcome this independent Review about our regulatory processes and how we do our work. We fully accept the findings and are committed to fully implementing the recommendations. We hope that the positive findings about our processes and our regulatory model and approach will provide assurance to those using services, their families and the wider public. We fully accept that the Review also identifies where we need to improve and work is already underway in this regard.

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“In particular, we are committed to reviewing how best we continue to hold providers to account. In this context, we are redoubling our efforts to evaluate how providers support and enable positive staff culture and behaviour in their services to ensure positive outcomes for people using services.

“We are looking at how we plan and carry out different types of inspection and strengthening how we use information to enhance our understanding of the quality of service being delivered by providers on an ongoing basis. We will engage with providers as part of this process so that we secure their direct input and ownership.

“We are also actively working to improve the information we make available to residents, families and the public about our role and ensuring that the most up-to-date regulatory status of nursing homes is available. The views and feedback from residents and families will be critical to the success of this work.

“The Review also highlights priorities for regulatory reform, particularly in the context of the changing nursing home sector, and we are continuing to engage with the Minister for Heath and the Minister of State for Older People on areas for improvement in the regulatory framework,” she said.

Read the independent review and inspection reports on www.hiqa.ie