Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone, particularly the Minister and Ministers of State, for their input into the meeting. I wish to give my condolences on the sad death of a beautiful woman and a lovely unborn child.

I will move straight to question No. 23. I wished to raise many issues, but there is not much that one can ask in two minutes. The question relates to 2008 and 2009 and I have raised it at this committee numerous times during the past 17 months.

It is about the Hollybrook Community Nursing Unit in Inchicore. It has been ready for use for the last couple of months but, unfortunately, it is lying dormant. There is not enough time to deal with many of the questions, but I will ask a few. If the Minister cannot reply now, I would welcome a reply to them as soon as possible. Are the beds in Hollybrook new or replacement beds? What does this mean for the people who are on the waiting list for the beds under the fair deal? If the patients are transferred directly from St. James's Hospital, which has been mentioned, what will happen to the people on the fair deal scheme who are on the list and have expressed their interest in Hollybrook? Can the Minister provide a time frame for the opening of this unit? Will he clarify if there are talks under way with the new chief executive officer of St. James's Hospital to transfer the patients to Hollybrook? Between 2008 and 2009 the community of Inchicore and the surrounding area was given a commitment by the HSE that 18% of the beds would be allocated to people living in the area. Will the Minister or the HSE clarify, if possible, that this will still happen? People in the local area are very worried. We bought into this in 2008 and 2009 and it is crunch time now. It would be most helpful if the Minister would answer those questions.