Mr. Stephen Mulvany:

I do not have specific information about Crooksling. I mentioned in my opening statement that €15 million of the deficit at the end of August relates to public long-term residential facilities, some of which have cost levels that are well above other public units and above those of the private units. While there may not be direct comparability between those two, that is something in which we obviously are interested. I will not comment specifically on Crooksling but that challenge of being able to get sufficient occupancy of the beds, to comply with HIQA registration requirements, which in some cases requires us to reduce the number of beds in existing facilities, and then to be able to staff those facilities appropriately with the right skill mix and not be obliged to incur substantial agency and overtime costs, as we are in a number of places, is another factor at which we must look carefully in this year's service planning process for next year because that overrun of €15 million could perhaps be better served in investment elsewhere. I am not commenting about Crooksling and do not know whether it features in this particular discussion but that is the bigger picture around direct provision of long-term elderly care versus private provision.