HIQA says it's unable to investigate individual complaints made against Kerry nursing homes.
The Health Information and Quality Authority was responding to a query, after it was revealed that 90 complaints were made against nursing home providers and staff in Kerry over the past three years.
The majority of complaints against nursing homes in Kerry relate to access to a relative, the turnover of staff, hygiene, overcrowding, managing and reporting of falls and poor communication with residents' families.
HIQA says it's unable to investigate individual complaints about a health or social care service under the Health Act 2007, however, it will listen to what people have to say.
It says it uses the feedback in a number of ways to establish if a service is safe, effective, caring, and well managed.
If a complaint falls under one of HIQA's regulations, it considers what action can be taken to gain further information and assurance in relation to the ongoing performance of the provider, and ensure the safety of residents.
The regulations cover topics such as staffing, training and development, and overall governance and management.
According to HIQA's website, a small number of previous unsolicited information submissions triggered centre inspections.
