Mr. Stephen Mulvany:

The fundamentals are that there is a certain total level of resource and we must make the best with it. That is the same everywhere. Different areas will come under pressure because of capacity issues. In fairness, a significant amount of the tens of millions of euro invested over recent years has been invested additionally in home care. As the Deputy indicated, there is no argument that it is, for those for whom it is suitable, a far better option than the more expensive acute care. Fundamentally, there is a limit so we prioritise discharge from hospitals. That means we can end up with people in the community waiting and it is an area of constant focus between ourselves and colleagues in the Department about reprioritising the resource we have. Fundamentally, there will be a limit. It is a reality.