Mr. Justin Moran:

I will respond briefly to the points the Deputy made about culture by noting something positive the committee might not be aware of. Age Action recently carried out research to look at the issue of interculturalism in nursing homes and residential care settings. It looked in particular at care workers who were born outside of Ireland and one interesting thing was the positive experience of many nursing home residents because of the respect for older people and aging that exists in the cultures of such workers. Perhaps that respect has been eroded somewhat in Ireland but if the convention or suggestions that are being made to tackle ageism will help restore it, it is worth doing.