Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)

I thank the Minister of State for that response. We have some examples of good practice, for example in Limerick and in the mid-west where we have the 30 hospice beds and the multidisciplinary teams. The target is one hospice bed for every 10,000 of population. Three regions have that, two are at 40%, two are at 30% and three regions have none, not a single bed. Wicklow, the area I know best, has no beds although it is part of a different region. The home care team has four nurses, one of whom is on maternity leave and another on sick leave, but because of the recruitment freeze, those positions cannot be filled, even temporarily. Therefore, Wicklow has only two nurses for the whole area. I suggest to the Minister that the issue is one of variance and would like to know what is being done about that. For example, where we have best practice - in Limerick - the State spend is €30 per head, but in Wicklow the spend is €3 per head. What is being done to provide best practice around the country?

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