Mr. Niall Redmond:

I will just add to that. When considering the recommendations and the broader work that is happening, looking at and considering how to reform older-person services, we must consider some of the policy work around what the future model might look like and how its models of care and finance might operate. A significant amount of work needs to be done to map out and put granular detail around what that might look like before we can accurately predict what that model will cost in its delivery.

It is fair to say that the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, is doing a piece of work to look at the pricing system that applies to agreements with private and voluntary nursing homes. That work is ongoing. The Department is also doing a piece of work. It is particularly important that the care needs assessment becomes the critical foundation piece for both the delivery of services and how they are resourced and configured. The roll-out of the single assessment tool will be a key part of that and the Department is working with the Health Research Board at the moment to undertake a review of international evidence for how to take a care needs assessment and define and allocate resources across a range of care bands. That preparatory, evidence-based gathering work is well under way and we are looking at future models.