Mr. Damien McCallion:

The Deputy made a couple of important points. I absolutely agree as regards the age profile, which a number of other Deputies mentioned, over the next ten, 20 or 30 years. No matter how many beds we build, home care is crucial for supporting people at home as long as possible, both for their own needs socially and medically but also in terms of hospital prevention. We need to look at different models. Sage produced a really good report recently on the future of home care and how we care for elderly people in our communities. We need a much broader process and solution than just the HSE and how we work as communities. That is a good piece of work. My understanding is that there is something happening in the new year in relation to the process around looking at care of the elderly. Home care is certainly one of the key things in the short term. We are trying to address gaps like those the Deputy mentioned in Cork and Kerry as best we can but it needs a wider look from society and across government, across Departments and across community. When you look at the age profile over the next ten or 20 years, it does need a much wider solution.