Mr. Bernard Gloster:

There are two parts to this from my perspective. The first is that I am hoping that, through families, advocates and others, people's first choice will be known to enough people to ensure it is kept and pursued afterwards. The second part is in regard to their basic healthcare. Unfortunately, we have had a position in the Irish healthcare system, and I have met some resistance in the workforce on the matter this year, whereby our primary care and community care staff, by general rule, do not operate within private nursing homes. I am changing that because I believe people in private nursing homes have a right to the same access to care as if they are living in their own home. That will add to the oversight of this issue.

The place where Dr. Henry, Ms Broderick and I want to get to a better level of monitoring and follow-up is not actually in long-term care but in respect of people who go to transition care. I refer to people who are meant to go to transition for four weeks, say, of recovery and recuperation or while waiting for a home care package. We can do better on their follow-up and the quality of their care, and we certainly are very committed to that. However, if the Deputy is asking me whether I have a dedicated follow-up of every person who goes into care, the answer is that I do not.