The health minister says he'll consider giving HIQA extra powers to investigate reports of abuse against residents in nursing and care homes.

Leo Varadkar will consider the move, after a Fine Gael TD compiled a dossier of hundreds of allegations that HIQA cannot legally investigate.

Fergus O'Dowd's dossier includes 700 allegations that residents in nursing and care homes were abused.

It was compiled through Freedom of Information Requests to HIQA - which doesn't have the power under law to investigate them.

Deputy O'Dowd is now going to table a bill to change that law - and Leo Varadkar says he'll consider it.

Meanwhile a Garda inquiry is continuing into allegations of abuse at Aras Attracta in Co Mayo - any independent inquiry has been shelved until the Garda investigaiton is finished.