Martin Daly urges swift implementation of safeguarding reforms

I suppose just a couple of reflections, I have read your statements and I suppose the reflection on the Farrelly Commission is really, it's sort of depressing really, you know that something that should have been empowering, the words you're using is disempowering, that exclusion of non-speaking people and people with intellectual disability, I mean we should addressing that, I mean, mishandled and the publication of it and of course that has led for structural reform and I suppose a reflection would be the Law Commission proposals of 2024, the publication of the government framework yesterday, how do you feel, I suppose you've answered in some detail, but do you think, and without going into it, do you think that this is a genuine effort by government now to address this issue? The answer is yes, we do in Safeguarding Ireland feel that a significant policy was announced yesterday and we are certainly, as I say, Safeguarding Ireland is welcoming the policy, we're not saying, oh no, this isn't what we want, we're saying that yes, there is a lot here to work with what's important with what was published yesterday, is that we move towards a plan and then we resource implementation and skill set to actually implement it, but we are saying there are some gaps and additions in terms of cross-section, particularly around the area of financial abuse and some other areas and that Safeguarding Ireland will be coming back and advocating that these areas not be not advanced because this is a health and social care focused policy. So we think there is significance in what was announced yesterday, there are pieces to be added, but what we need to see is implementation of this rather than it sort of sitting there slowly burning, it needs to progress quickly on its timeline. Do you guys want to say anything? I'd just like to comment about the offences, obviously we mentioned them, I mentioned them in the opening statement, they're really important and they aren't covered by the health policy. There are vehicles through which they could be progressed, they've been described in detail by the Law Reform Commission, it produced a draft adult safeguarding criminal law bill, we've outlined them. The issue of coercive control outside domestic relationships is really, really important, it's one that we certainly see referred to us, we anticipate that area is an area that will grow for sure in terms of the projection of our national demographics. We spoke about congregated settings and people in residential care, I think those offences are really important to protect people who live in residential settings in the context of the great risk to them that can arise in those settings. So outside of the implementation of the health policy and the plan for saying we would really like to see those offences progressed. Thanks Deputy. I suppose just on safeguarding, a key lesson that we took whenever we looked into the Faraday Commission was that any reform of safeguarding can't lose sight of Article 19 of the UNCRPD which is the right to independent living. So in any reform of safeguarding, it's so important that right is still safeguarded and that we don't lose sight of that in the process of reform and deny people more of their rights. We have a long way to go in terms of independent living living and come in quite a number of areas. I mean I often think as a GP looking at it, it's an institutional convenience to congregate people to put them in the most convenient for the state, not for the person themselves. So I have a 33 year old acquired brain injury person who had surgery in a brain tumour at nine years of age whose mother is incapacitated at the moment. Their respite care is two weeks in an Alzheimer's unit in a private nursing home and she is now incapacitated at the moment and has asked for three months of respite while she recovers and undergoes her treatment, hopefully she'll do well. But the offer is going to be three months in this Alzheimer's unit for a 33 year old for a 33 year old acquired brain injury sufferer. So I just think we've so far to go in relation to dealing with the whole issue about independent living and different offerings for different people that it can't be binary, it can't be just in the home, independent living may not be possible or convenient but that if they are in an institution that the safeguarding piece is so critically important and I take your point about financial abuse. One of the biggest things I see again as a GP with an aging demographic is older people who suffer some cognitive impairment as they are getting older and watching neighbours and family members taking control of their finances and really removing autonomy from that person in terms of their financial and that is a growing area. In addition to that, the communication piece, I mean I do think that we need to be communicated to the wider community. I spoke about Alzheimer's to the Western Alzheimer's, they were doing a walk in a week's time. In order to try and get the point across that they weren't walking for other people who are a minority, they were walking for themselves because as we get older there's going to be an increase in Alzheimer's and in dementia but also too like conscious getting older myself, you can get acquired aphasia, acquired brain injury, degenerative diseases, you might have a stroke in the morning and I think we need to be appealing to the wider population on this, that this isn't simply a minority report for a minority of our people, this is actually a report that may affect you in the future and might affect you quite precipitously if you have an illness and I think that that communication we need a better commitment to more meaningful communication to draw a wider community in. Coming back to the framework, the Government Framework Law Reform Commission, I know there's one big, you're looking for an independent authority. Do you see the HSE as, do you see that as strong enough, that's the proposal under the Government Framework with the HICWA as the independent arbiter and the Chief Social Worker for the HSE driving this process? How do you see that working? We've had a limited amount of time to analyse what's in the policy. Yeah, I would say the strengthening of the NERP, which is now on a statutory basis, that covers some of the distance I think. Obviously, the resourcing of the HSE's capacity to deliver here is really key because we know it's going to expand but we don't know the scale of the expansion. So resourcing will be another aspect. And then the main piece that jumped out to me is just the coordination. So this is a sectoral policy for health and social care. So it doesn't cover those other domains where people live lives. So the area of financial abuse, which you mentioned yourself, obviously I'm looking at the scope as described in the policy. So referrals can be brought in from those sectors to the HSE. But say the case is investigated and there are failings within the financial sector, say. How can the health policy compel change within another sector, say for financial services? So who is overseeing that and who is coordinating that? That's the question mark. Can you engage in the process of what's going on and what's going on? Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. All right, thanks. I've got to ask. Thank you. I've got to ask. I've got to ask. I've got to ask. Thank you. Thank you. I've got to ask. Thank you. Thank you.