Ms Anne O'Connor:

On community hospitals and the investment programme, we have had a programme of investment in all our long-term residential care facilities and nursing homes, including the HSE community hospitals. That has been a staged programme in line with HIQA requirements relating to environmental conditions in congregated settings. We have developed that in line with available resources. Some of our capital programmes have concluded while others are in train.

There is a rolling upgrade to our facilities.

Regarding home help, prior to the emergence of Covid-19 we were providing home support to more than 51,000 people. That came down to 40,000. We saw a reduction of slightly more than 11,000 in the number of people in receipt of home support, but it is important to note that of those, 7,500 wanted to have the service suspended. The only services that were suspended were for priority 3 and priority 4 people, accounting for just under 4,000 people. Services were temporarily suspended for about 3,800 people. The community healthcare organisations are working closely with the providers throughout the country to ensure that people continue to be supported. We have also been signposting people to the voluntary sector and ensuring that we have telephone contact with them. In the majority of cases where service was suspended, this was at the request of recipients because they did not want people coming into their homes. We are working proactively. We have redeployed approximately 166 home support workers into residential care. As the situation in residential care stabilises further, those people will be redeployed to the provision of home support.