Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
1410. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department considers reliance on general HSE governance structures, in the absence of pathway-specific audit systems or national datasets, sufficient to satisfy the State's safeguarding and patient-safety obligations. [39759/26]
View answerMy Department in recent years has overseen a number of initiatives and infrastructures that have been put in place to achieve greater quality in healthcare safety, general safeguarding standards and clinical excellence.
The HSE has strengthened its focus on quality and patient safety by establishing an integrated infrastructure for quality, safety, and risk management, with the goal of achieving excellence in clinical governance. The Chief Clinical Officer and his team provide system-wide oversight, ensuring safe practices are upheld and clear, high standards for quality and patient safety are consistently set and maintained.
The HSE’s National Centre for Clinical Audit (NCCA) which was established within National Quality and Patient Safety (NQPS) in 2022 represented a significant advance in HSE’s policy of safer, better healthcare.
Under the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023, clinical audit is specifically acknowledged and safeguarded, enabling it to contribute effectively to patient safety and quality assurance.
It is the policy of the HSE that through their Incident Management Framework (IMF) all Patient Safety Incidents are identified, reported and reviewed so that learning from events can be shared to improve the quality and safety of service. These patient safety incidents require disclosure in accordance with the requirements of the HSE Open Disclosure Policy. The HSE also informs the NPSO in the Department of Health of major/significant patient/service user safety incidents and issues of concern through the communications protocol.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent body responsible for setting standards, inspecting and monitoring health and social care services, and advising on safety and quality in Ireland. To ensure compliance, HIQA conduct inspections assessing whether service providers comply with national standards and regulation.
Safeguarding adults who may be at risk of abuse, harm, and neglect by others in the context of their interactions with the health and social care sector, is a key objective of the Department of Health, every statutory body under its aegis and every relevant service that interacts with such adults.
Currently, there are various structures and processes in place within the health and social care sector, to protect against abuse and ensure prompt action. This includes the HSE National Safeguarding Office under the governance of the Chief Social Worker, specialist Safeguarding and Protection Teams in each health region, designated Safeguarding Officers within services, specific regulatory requirements for residential care services which are inspected against by HIQA and the Mental Health Commission.
In 2024, the HSE implemented a single digital platform (Adult Safeguarding Portal) to standardise the reporting and referral of adult safeguarding concerns or allegations of abuse to Regional Adult Safeguarding and Protection Teams.
In December 2025, the Government approved Ireland’s first ever National Policy Framework for Adult Safeguarding in the Health and Social Care sector. The policy framework will extend across all public, private and voluntary health and social care services.
