NHI Acknowledges the Publication of the Forvis/Mazars Review of Regulatory Inspection Process of Designated Centres for Older People; and Calls for Action to be Taken to Ensure a Consistent Approach Across all Nursing Home Inspections

Thursday July 2, 2026

Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) acknowledges the publication of the Forvis/Mazars Report of its Review of the Regulatory Inspection Process of Designated Centre for Older People which was published today. This Report is an independent review into the regulatory process of designated centres for older people by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).  

In acknowledgement of this Report, NHI is now calling for the Department of Health and HIQA to take a more holistic view of how it plans to enhance the regulatory process; to ensure a consistency of approach across inspections carried out in nursing homes.  

As the national representative body for the private and voluntary nursing home sector, NHI engaged, and met with Forvis/Mazars during this review process to facilitate the provision of its expert sectoral insights. As exhibited in the Report published today, the private and voluntary nursing home sector has embraced the introduction, and development of the regulatory framework under HIQA since its inception in 2009.  

Additionally, across the private and voluntary nursing home sector, advancements in resident experiences and care are being developed through cross-sectoral engagement on a consistent basis. Recent examples include: 

  • The NHI and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery: Placing Human Rights at the Heart of Nursing Home Care research project. This research provides practical tools for nursing home care providers to embed a rights-based approach in daily practice and forms a key part of NHI’s work to strengthen policy, advocacy, and resident-focused care. 
  • NHI is also helping to facilitate and promote the “voice of the resident” across the nursing home sector, through the creation of the NHI Residents Forum, which was established in March 2025. The role of the Residents Forum is to bring residents together to identify common national opportunities and challenges they, as nursing home residents, face and to seek ways to address these. The Residents Forum provides a valuable platform for residents to be heard and supported at a national level. 

 Acknowledging the publication of this Report, NHI CEO, Tadhg Daly said: “NHI welcomed the opportunity to give our sectoral insights to Forvis/Mazars during the development of this report. The private and voluntary nursing home sector in Ireland providers long-term residential care and support to over 27,000 people, in a ‘home-from-home’ setting that prioritises a rights-based approach to the provision of high-quality, person-centred, and choice-led care. As a sector, we continually engage and work with the Department of Health and HIQA on the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, to ensure residents continue to receive quality care and support. NHI is calling for greater stakeholder involvement in implementation of the required regulatory enhancements, to ensure a consistent approach to regulation is achieved. We will remain engaged with the Department of Health and HIQA on the recommendations.” 

ENDS

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Additional Materials 

  • The National Nursing Home Experience Programme provided a positive opportunity for the voice of the resident to be heard, with most residents saying that they had a ‘good’, or ‘very good’ overall experience in their nursing home (90.3%). Residents surveyed were particularly positive about the living environment in the nursing home, as well as the staff and caregivers.  

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For Further Information  

Ronan Lowther (Policy & Communications Lead) | communications@nhi.ie 

NHI Office | ea@nhi.ie 

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About NHI: Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) is the national representative body for the private and voluntary nursing home sector, encompassing over 440 nursing homes across Ireland, which provide care to over 27,000 people. Our mission is to actively support and represent our members, enabling them to deliver sustainable, high-quality care to their residents. As the voice of nursing home sector, we are dedicated to championing a care-first philosophy. We actively advocate for the rights and well-being of residents, while responding to the evolving needs and challenges faced by our members. Through this, we pledge to uphold our role as advocates, embracing the direct voices of those we serve and continuously striving to promote excellence in care.