Ms Mary Hurley:

I will come back to the Deputy, but it is a known procedure. I am not talking about years in advance but where we know that someone is going into hospital for a particular procedure and if he or she is working closely with the local authority, it has happened.

On the scheme and the issue of consistency, one of the reasons we undertook a review in 2017 was to streamline the scheme. We have issued guidelines on it and more streamlined, single forms will be issued shortly. We have worked with Inclusion Ireland on their design because we recognise that forms can be very difficult at the best of times but for people in their later years, they can be especially daunting. Work has been done on the forms and guidelines have been issued to the local authorities, which should improve the consistency of the scheme. We have told the local authorities that there is scope for discretion. There will often be special cases in local authority areas and it is a matter for local authorities to assess and deliver on them.

On the supply of accommodation, Ms Neary's team and the social housing team have technical meetings with each local authority on a quarterly basis. We sit down with the local authorities and "older people" is an item on our checklist. The aim is to ensure we get the right mix of accommodation. The Deputy is absolutely right that one bedroom and two-bedroom units are very important. We are encouraging and working with local authorities to move away from the standard three-bedroom unit. We need more one-bedroom units. Extensive work is being done in that regard. We are also telling the local authorities that where the opportunity arises to acquire particular types of unit under the capital assistance scheme, they should proceed to take it. Last year under the scheme 10% of units purchased went to older people. The units were spread throughout the community. Therefore, work is being done on that issue.