Ms Frances Spillane:

There are two different funding sources so both sides operate in parallel. In general, there is pretty good joint working between the health side and the local authorities.

The Senator may be familiar with the age-friendly cities and counties initiative. The committee may have met the people involved. The empowerment of older people is important as well. There are older people councils in many parts of the country at the moment. It means older people have a voice in decisions that are relevant to them in their communities. The Department of Health, in its own right and through the Healthy Ireland initiative, is very involved in many of these local initiatives.

Senator Murnane O'Connor mentioned publicity about the fair deal or nursing homes support scheme. Many quite strict rules attach to the scheme but it is well advertised. In view of the amount that the scheme costs it is inevitable that many stages must be gone through. It is a statutory scheme. There are strict criteria to do with care needs as well as a means test. My colleague, Mr. Redmond, may wish to comment.