Shocking HSE failures in safeguarding. HSE must immediately intervene to ensure quality of care of existing Good People Homecare services.

• Immediate pause needed to all Good People Homecare existing services supplied on behalf of the HSE and HSE must directly intervene to ensure quality of care.
• HSE must account for shocking internal failures.  Serious concerns about failure of HSE internal systems to process vital information from TUSLA relating to Good People Homecare.
• Even more crucially, it is not clear what sort of a wild west exists with regards to contracting agency staff the supply of vital services.  HSE must make clear what safeguarding procedures are in place in the awarding of national contracts.
• Expedience must not trump safeguarding in the care of vulnerable persons even if urgent care shortages are driven by under-investment.

 

Labour’s health spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD said the reports that the HSE attempted to conceal links to a company at the centre of forged Garda vetting are deeply alarming.

She said the State has clear responsibilities when it comes to vulnerable people in its care and must take immediate action to ensure that no provider continues to operate without full and verifiable employee vetting.

Deputy Sherlock said:

“The revelations that the HSE was prepared to give a contract to Good People Homecare despite its role in supplying falsified background checks to Tusla are deeply alarming. It represents yet another failure in a litany of failures in the provision of care for vulnerable individuals.

“The fact that Tusla cut ties with the company after discovering forged Garda vetting should have been a clear red line. Instead, the use of this provider continued in the Dublin and North East region where they still supply home care packages to patients in County Meath. People who rely on care support deserve absolute certainty that those caring for them are fully vetted and safe.

“This is a clear reflection of the increasing privatisation of the care sector which is prioritising profit over care and safeguarding. The HSE can no longer afford a hand off the wheel approach to this. We must see immediate investment in state-owned care facilities and for the HSE to operate its own panel of agency staffing. And crucially, we need an immediate pause on all care provided by Good People Homecare.

“This entire episode highlights a serious information breakdown between two State agencies. Tusla was aware of falsified Garda vetting and reported it to the Gardaí. Yet the HSE was preparing to award a contract to the same company and attempted to conceal that fact.

“These are not clerical slip-ups. They represent profound failures of communication and governance in the system, and the consequences fall on vulnerable children and older people relying on care.

“How is it possible that a company that forged Garda vetting for staff caring for vulnerable children continues to provide care? The HSE confirmed that the Dublin and North East region relies on Good People Homecare for home support packages to this day. This alone should trigger an immediate pause and review. It is unimaginable that a provider with this record would remain in place without a comprehensive re-evaluation of every staff member and every contract.

“This scandal points to much deeper issues. We have a State that has placed heavy reliance on agency and outsourced services rather than building a properly staffed and supported public system. When you contract out vital services, you outsource responsibility and oversight. This is exactly how unsafe practices and forged documentation slip through the cracks.

“It is not enough for officials to say the matter is being investigated. We need to understand how the HSE did not know what Tusla already knew. We need to know who authorised continued use of this provider and why no red flags were raised.

“It is critical that we see the establishment of properly vetted staffing panels. We need panels of care workers that have undergone full Garda vetting and training so that vacancies in the system can be filled quickly without resorting to risky outsourcing. Families should never have to worry whether the person coming into their home was cleared by forged paperwork. The safety of people in care, young or old, must come first.

“The public deserves transparency and consequences. The HSE must publish the timeline of its interactions with this provider. It must outline how it intends to safeguard current service users in County Meath and beyond. The Government must direct both the HSE and Tusla to adopt a shared vetting and notification protocol without delay. We cannot continue with fragmented oversight that exposes children, older people, and people with disabilities to unacceptable risks. Government must act now to restore trust and to protect those who rely on our care services.”