Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I endorse the Chairman's opening remarks about public nursing homes. Recently, I placed a question with the Department and the HSE on public nursing homes vis-à-visprivate nursing homes. In the past five years there has been a drop of 10% in public nursing homes in most regions. Is there a deliberate policy on the part of the HSE to get out of providing public nursing homes? There was serious overcrowding in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, County Galway after Christmas. It was so bad that some children were moved from Ballinasloe to Mullingar, which did not make sense. There are two nursing homes within 20 minutes of Portiuncula Hospital, to which some patients could have been moved to alleviate the overcrowding. They are reasonably priced and provide good accommodation. In such instances why not avail of nursing homes at the weekend or whenever else there is overcrowding? The Minister will probably say that happens in certain circumstances, but at other times it does not.