Ms Sandra Broderick:

On Mount Carmel, I sent the Deputy some correspondence indicating we are absolutely committed to completing the purchase of Mount Carmel. We have completed the due diligence but just need to discuss some of that with the proprietors now. We are 100% committed to making sure that we acquire Mount Carmel nursing home. It will probably be in the next number of weeks. That is the intention but there are just a couple of aspects we need to discuss with the proprietors. That is definitely ongoing.

The second point relates to Nenagh. Like the Minister, we are absolutely committed to handing it back. However, there are 27 patients in the facility right now and another four are due to be transferred from UHL. Everyone would welcome the fact that this means 31 people who would otherwise be in a bed in UHL at this point. The facility is doing what it was intended to do and patients are being admitted to it and discharged from it after they have received rehabilitation. I was there recently and many of the patients there told me they had received a really good service there and ongoing rehabilitation that ensured that they would not need to go into long-term care. All of us would welcome any older person not having to go into long-term care prematurely because he or she has no access to rehabilitation. That is an important element of what we are doing in Nenagh.