Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I think it is fair to say that many people, even before the pandemic, would have preferred to stay in their home than go to a nursing home. They might have had a fear but now that fear is much greater and it is among families as well.

Government policy is to move more towards home care and having a statutory home care package and away from relying on the fair deal scheme alone. This combination of fewer people fitting in a nursing home because of infection control rooms, fewer people wanting to enter them and the State supporting more home care would seem to add up to much less demand for nursing home spaces. I do not know whether this is how Mr. Daly sees it. If this does happen, will it lead to nursing homes either closing or having higher fees to stay in a nursing home with fewer people in it?