Undercover monitoring in care homes 'must be considered': Lynch
RTE has confirmed that it reported the abuse it recorded at the HSE-run Áras Attracta care home in Co Mayo to the Gardaí.
The care centre for adults with intellectual disabilities was the subject of an RTE Prime Time report broadcast last night.
The undercover footage shows residents being slapped, kicked, verbally abused and force-fed.
Speaking on Prime Time, the Junior Minister with responsibility for disability Kathleen Lynch said placing undercover inspectors in care centres would have to be among a range of options considered.
"Maybe it will take putting in place the kind of undercover person (the Primetime team) put in place," she said.
The Minister also outlined the scale of the task - there are more than 900 such units all over the country. There are currently more than 3,700 people with an intellectual disability living in the facilities.
Áras Attracta in Swinford is home to 100 residents living in a series of bungalows and units on the site. Bungalow 3 accommodates seven female residents.
Inside Bungalow 3 - RTE player
Reporter with the RTE Investigations Unit Barry O'Kelly said they recorded a huge amount of footage, and some of it is very worrying.
He said: "It is well over 190 hours. There were regular incidents where people were being shouted at, people were being threatened and intimidated.
"There were also incidents where residents were slapped, pushed, shoved, kicked and force-fed."
Nine members of staff at Áras Attracta have been removed from duty, with pay, as a result of the footage and pending an independent investigation separate from the HSE.
Head of Nursing at the University of Ulster Professor Owen Barr told the programme-makers the treatment was abusive in the extreme.
"The idea that you would restrain someone and physically try to overpower someone to get them to drink - you can’t defend that," he said.
"At one stage a member of staff puts her hands over the individual's face. That's abusive practive - there's no question of that."
Minister for Primary and Social Care Kathleen Lynch today said: "I am shocked and distressed by the revelations of extremely poor and unacceptable standards of care and mistreatment of vulnerable residents in Áras Attracta.
"Every person who uses disability services is entitled to expect and receive supports of the highest standard and to live in an atmosphere of safety and care. This is particularly important for vulnerable people in residential care whose families have entrusted them to the care of professional staff."
