Almost 200 allegations of abuse to residents have been found by a new Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) report at a nursing home at the centre of a recent RTÉ investigation.
The 198 allegations of “suspected or confirmed of abuse to a resident” were made in the Firstcare Beneavin Manor nursing home in Glasnevin between January 1, 2022 to June 5, 2025.
The interim Hiqa report also found 70 notifications of “serious incident/injury to a resident that requires hospital admission/resulted in death” at the nursing home over that period.
In The Residence Portlaoise nursing home, a further 40 allegations of abuse were recorded since December 2023.
The group which runs the nursing homes, Emeis Ireland, has been asked by Hiqa to “consider pausing admissions” to all of the 25 nursing homes it operates “until they have implemented their own improvement plan”.
Recent inspections of the group’s homes “speak to [a] system under significant strain”, it noted.
Notifications of abuse can indicate “a strong culture of recognising and submitting incidents which fall into the required notification categories” and does not always reflect a non-compliant service, the report said.
Altercations among residents and the tone that someone is spoken to in can amount to notifications of abuse, among with more serious allegations, the report noted.
The report, published on Tuesday night, followed an RTÉ Investigates broadcast on June 4 which featured the care of residents in two nursing homes within the Emeis Ireland group of nursing homes — The Residence Portlaoise and Firstcare Beneavin Manor. The report stated:
“Hiqa is appalled by the way that residents were treated, and such treatment goes against the core values of Hiqa and its staff,” the report said.
The report was compiled at the request of the Minister of State for Older People, Kieran O’Donnell.
A final report will be provided to the minister upon completion of a review of all of the centres owned by Emeis Ireland.
While the interim report provides an overview of the two nursing homes in the RTÉ investigation, a final report will include a review of the regulatory history of each of the 25 nursing homes operated by Emeis Ireland.
Hiqa’s interim report on regulatory oversight is based on engagement with the two nursing homes over the past two weeks.
A full report is due from Hiqa by the end of this week.
