Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to follow up on what Deputy Dillon raised earlier on about the cost of nursing home care. He raised the one issue in relation to Cork, where 73 beds have now been withdrawn from the fair deal scheme. We now have a problem. We have 73 people who do not have beds from now on if they cannot pay for it themselves.

I would like to raise the issue with regard to Laois. The average cost of a nursing home bed in the HSE system is €2,585 per bed per week. That is €600 higher than the cost of a bed in Dublin, and it is €1,500 higher than the cost of a bed in the private sector. My understanding is that there is one facility in Laois where beds costs €4,500 per bed per week. Can I have a report as to why that is arising? I know Mr. Gloster cannot give it to me here but I ask that it be given to me. If one looks at this, if what I am being told is true, then for €45,000, ten patients are being looked after per week-----