Ms Martina Queally:

I hope it is unusual, but that is hope more than anything else. One of the things we are trying to do in our programme of work is to avoid such scenarios for 83-year-old men. We have integrated care programmes for older people and 96 community health networks across the country. The idea behind and objective of those programmes is to ensure the pathways of care to enable people, such as the person to whom the Cathaoirleach referred, to stay at home and stay active and well within their families by ensuring they have whatever equipment required. An OT assessment is required to get such equipment, but I do not like to see that kind of waiting time for an older person. We have seen improvement in waiting times in the integrated care for older persons. Some areas are extremely challenged when it comes to therapies, but that is not what we are coping with in the overall system.