Mr. David Walsh:

The HSE has engaged on Covid-19 with Nursing Homes Ireland since January of this year. I will ask Ms Sandra Tuohy to go into the detail of that.

Specifically, on PPE, the HSE was very clear from the outset that it would not differentiate between public, private and voluntary settings.

I am aware that units, whether public or private, wanted more PPE. We are all clear that the overall increase in demand for PPE required us to prioritise the distribution of same to those premises that were affected by either suspected or confirmed outbreaks. To date, the HSE has supplied in or around €27 million worth of PPE to private nursing homes since the beginning of March.