The decision by Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney to publish Health Service Executive (HSE) reports into conditions at private and public nursing homes has been welcomed by the Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly.
Ms Harney said the reports should go beyond what she described as "the standard reports of the past". She was speaking to RTÉ radio from Strandhill, Co Sligo.
Ms Harney said new legislation planned for the Autumn could include a licensing system for public and private nursing homes which would provide more "robust" inspection powers to what she said would be an independent inspectorate.
She said past Governments were inclined to turn a "blind eye to the private sector". Ms Harney said the State’s role was to ensure that the highest possible standards of care apply and that simply regulating the public sector only was "no longer good enough."
Ms O’Reilly said this afternoon "while some material, such as personal information will have to be withheld...the move is in line with my view that these reports should be made available to the general public as a matter of course".
"There is a strong public interest in increasing the openness and transparency of the process of investigation of complaints by public bodies, particularly where the complaints concern the provision of care for elderly or vulnerable people."