Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy makes a valid point. It is an area on which we are working hard. I asked the HSE to intervene with any nursing homes that inform HIQA they are going to deregister. This year, 17 nursing homes have issued deregistration numbers. To date, 11 have closed and six are currently open but are at the point of closing. Nursing homes close for a myriad of reasons, however. Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot of smaller community and voluntary nursing homes under pressure at the moment.