Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What I am hearing about it is that private owners, including nursing home owners, have more exacting considerations from HIQA. They feel they have to do it whereas public facilities seem to get away with it. As such, it costs them more. For example, private nursing homes say to me they are afraid that if they do not have the right nursing staff, they will be closed down. If HIQA goes into a public hospital for older people, that does not happen. It will not close the public facility but the private facility is made to spend money and to comply with more exacting guidelines. I do not know if the Minister has heard that.