The Health Information and Quality Authority has said Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the need to review and enhance nursing home regulations.
The health watchdog told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that it has been highlighting deficits in the regulation since 2013.
Covid-19 had a devastating impact on nursing homes across the country with hundreds of residents dying as a result of the virus.
Appearing before the committee today, HIQA Chief Executive Officer Phelim Quinn, called for the regulations in nursing homes to be strengthened. "The regulations as they currently stand would not have been adequate to deal with a pandemic such a Covid-19 but additionally and you are correct from as far back as 2013 we