Dr. Siobhán O'Halloran:

In response to what the Minister of State said, the end-of-life service work is being progressed through the All-Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care. It is a joint initiative between North and South.

With regard to nurse prescribing, there is a legal and regulatory framework in place. It has been in place since 2007. We currently have 650 nurse prescribers and 425 in training. There is no doubt that the introduction of nurse prescribing in the nursing home sector can yield the same benefits as in the acute sector, where it is more prevalent. It can also yield additional benefits in terms of continuity between the acute and nursing home sectors.

There is an issue at the moment with nurses accessing primary-care prescription pads for the purpose of reimbursement of medical card patients that we need to resolve. In resolving that issue, we also need to ensure that the governance of that issue is robust. In this regard, the Department, through engagement with the HSE, will progress the matter and any other matters that may be slowing down the expansion of this in the nursing home sector.