Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres, as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. This is often linked to higher staffing levels and the more complex care needs of the residents who are there. The HSE will always step in where residents' needs are sufficiently complex and they cannot be cared for elsewhere in the community or in a private nursing home. The HSE needs to be staffed to deliver that kind of complex care.

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