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

There is growth in the population age group and people are surviving longer. Despite all of the criticism of our health service, we now have 800,000 people over the age of 66. Within six years it will be 1 million people. In fairness, this is due to a large degree to the health service we have. Life expectancy has changed quite a bit and has improved. We will need a long-term plan to deal with this increase in numbers. Everyone wants more and more people to remain at home, and this is what the people themselves want, but no matter what we do, we will still have an increased demand for long-stay beds. What are we doing with regard to this long-term planning?