Emeis Ireland, the nursing home group which operates the two care centres featured in an RTÉ Investigates programme last month, has paused admissions to all 25 homes it runs in Ireland, the Health Information and Quality Authority has said.
An interim report published by HIQA outlines the regulatory history of the 25 centres, and details how it had to place restrictions on the operations of seven of the 25 homes as they failed to comply with regulations.
The authority said for the Residence Portlaoise, which featured in the RTÉ Investigates programme, it had to issue "a formal letter warning of prosecution if the provider admitted any new residents and the condition was breached again", after it received information that the operator had not ceased admissions on 22 April as ordered.
This followed a restrictive condition issued to the home after failings in care were discovered during inspections in October 2024, and in February this year.
At the other home featured in the programme, Firstcare Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in Dublin, had a "chequered history of regulatory compliance" since 2021.
It notes that in that year the home "voluntarily stopped admissions" and "also recognised that they were admitting residents whose needs they could not meet and agreed to review this".
It says there was improvement in 2022, but an inspection in July 2023 found these were not sustained.
A series of subsequent inspections led to improvements seen in an inspection in November last year.
HIQA said The Residence Carton in Raheny, Dublin 5, which changed its name from TLC Carton in 2024, "has a history of poor compliance with the regulations, specifically regarding Governance and Management and Infection Prevention and Control".
After several meetings with the provider, HIQA issued a letter last year warning it would cancel registration for the home unless issues were addressed "in a timely manner".
It also issued a Notice of Proposed Decision, which would have prevented the home admitting any residents, but this was not proceeded with, after the company issued a robust plan to address the issues and follow up inspection identified that improvements had been made.
At the Belmont Private Nursing Home in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, HIQA attached a restrictive condition in June 2022 "because the size and layout of all bedroom accommodation in the nursing home did not support the privacy and dignity of the residents living in these shared rooms".
This was removed in October 2023 when the provider had complied with the requirements of the order. But an unannounced visit to the nursing home in January 2024 identified non compliance on infection prevention and control, premises and fire precautions.
There was a cautionary meeting after which the management reduced the number of residents to enhance the lived experience of residents.
At the Brookvale Manor Private Nursing Home in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, HIQA attached a restrictive condition in 2021 to reduce the number of residents from 57 to 37 to ensure that "residents are in receipt of appropriate care and support" and "the management team in place for the centre knows what a good service looks like and can ensure the delivery of that service".
The restriction was removed in October 2023 and "The registered provider has sustained the improvements that were implements (sic) as evidenced by the findings of the most recent inspection in March 2025."
At the Residence Citywest, in Fortunestown, Dublin 24, inspectors found during a visit in 2022 that the provider, Cubedale Limited, "was not complying with key regulations which underpin the care of residents: governance and management, oversight of the day to day operation of the nursing home, staffing and residents rights resulted in escalating regulatory engagement".
There were two subsequent unannounced visits "before inspectors could be satisfied that Cubedale Limited was on a pathway to improved regulatory compliance and that the care of residents was improving."
The most recent inspection in August 2024 "evidenced good levels of compliance with regulations, and residents and families expressed their satisfaction with the service in the nursing home. Staff and resident interactions were found to be positive and respectful," the report said.
Maynooth Lodge Nursing Home in Co Kildare "has had an inconsistent history of regulatory compliance arising out of an unstable governance and management structure, insufficient staffing resources at times and ineffective service oversight."
The report notes that "since 2021 there have been seven changes in the person in charge".
Inspectors were sufficiently concerned to require weekly updates on staffing levels from October 2021 to March 2022.
There was an improvement in March 2022, leading to an increase in the number of beds permitted at the home in May of that year.
But then "subsequent risk inspections carried out on foot of unsolicited information in 2023 found a gradual decline in compliance and that the improvements previously observed were not sustained in the long-term."
Inspections last year found "improving levels of compliance".
The Residence Ashbourne, in Co Meath, "has had a history of non-compliance with regulations which resulted in escalating regulatory action and the addition of a restrictive condition to the registration of the designated centre."
But HIQA reports the registered provider has since 2022 "continued on an improved trajectory of regulatory compliance across most regulations. Concerns in respect of premises and infection control were effectively addressed."
'Work in progress'
HIQA says The Residence in Santry, Co Dublin, has "a chequered history of compliance over the past five years."
Inspectors found "sustained good levels of care and clinical oversight with good regulatory compliance," but also "significant and repeated concerns in respect of the governance and management and oversight of premises and fire safety persisted, which led to escalating regulatory action".
This led to the number of beds at the centre being reduced from 128 in 2023 to 94 in 2024.
That restrictive condition was removed last October when specific issues were addressed.
HIQA says a programme of renovations "remains a work in progress" but inspectors could see improvements with the most recent announced inspection in June.
The RTÉ Investigates programme, broadcast on 4 June, uncovered multiple examples of care failings and neglect of vulnerable older residents at two nursing homes run by Emeis Ireland.
An interim HIQA report published on 17 June revealed hundreds of cases of alleged or confirmed abuse at Firstcare Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin in Co Dublin, since June 2022 and at The Residence Portlaoise since December 2023.
The report said a high number of notifications "does not necessarily indicate a non-compliant service, and often means a strong culture of recognising and submitting incidents which fall into the required notification categories".
