Ms Helen McDaid:

We have four locations across south Tipperary. In total, they are delivering 137 beds, of which 86 are long-term beds, 21 are rehabilitation beds and the remainder are short-term beds. This includes 19 transitional care beds, five respite beds and six palliative care beds. That is in line with what was being delivered. We originally had six beds being delivered. There is the same complement of beds delivered in south Tipperary as there was when St. Brigid's closed. At a previous committee meeting, I made a commitment that we will have a minimum of two beds in the new build. That will raise the complement of palliative care beds to two and raise the complement across south Tipperary to seven beds. On 18 September last, a meeting took place between local stakeholders and the interest groups. As outlined in the statement, a follow-up meeting is scheduled for 23 October. The purpose of this meeting is to move forward on the level 2 palliative care beds that we had delivered in south Tipperary.

It is also worth noting that an additional 555 beds are being delivered through private nursing homes. As of this morning, there were 25 beds available there. We have also purchased private respite beds in two private nursing homes, one of which is based in Carrick-on-Suir. We have full complementary occupancy of that across a 12-month period and we can step up and step down what the profile of that bed is.