Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was struck when Mr. Dunne was talking about the importance of the district nurse. I dealt with a case of an elderly couple a number of years ago. The man was upstairs in their house as he could not leave the room. His wife could not get up the stairs. Their son, who was their carer, was in a chaotic addiction and it was only due to the role of the district nurse that the support services kicked in. It is an example of the important day-to-day work district nurses follow through on every day. If we do not have those services or supports - whether it involves elderly people, young people or young mothers who have just had a child, all of which supports need to kick in - there will be a gap in services and it is the same in acute services.

We tried today to focus on the nursing aspects of this whole area. If we have time and if there is enough space in the work programme, we certainly hope to return to this issue again. I thank the witnesses on behalf of the committee for coming in and giving their valuable insight into the challenges facing their members. I thank the INMO and SIPTU for assisting the committee in its consideration of staffing levels in the HSE, especially in the area of nursing. Again, I thank the witnesses. This morning was very useful.