Motion: Public Inquiry into Northern Ireland’s handling of care home residents

This Council fully supports the call by the Commissioner for Older People Eddie Lynch for a public inquiry into Northern Ireland’s handling of care home residents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, being the first and to date only local authority to call for such an inquiry.

This council restates our established position and calls on those who previously voted against such an inquiry to reconsider their stance in list of the Commissioner for Older People’s remarks and the body of evidence on which this is based.

Furthermore this council calls for scrutiny of procedures under Human Rights legislation, particularly Articles 2 and 3 and demands an inquiry applies these as grounding rules within any Terms of Reference.

This council will write to all Stormont Executive Ministers and the other local authorities to seek their support for a public inquiry into this matter.