Mr. John Horan:

There are four headings to the way that it is negotiated, and not necessarily in the following order. They are the costs reasonably and prudently incurred by the nursing home and providing evidence of value for money; the price that was previously charged before the fair deal scheme ever got set up; the local market price - there was talk about the inter-county rates and so on and that may be an area that is worth looking at; and, finally, the budgetary constraints and the obligation that is on the State and on us, on the citizens' behalf, to use those resources in the most beneficial and effective manner in order to provide and improve the services our elderly residents require. They are the four elements.