Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, in the EU 27, as deemed by the World Health Organization. A really interesting statistic is that we have 400 fewer people in nursing homes under the fair deal scheme this year than we had in 2019. This shows that the investment in home care, day care and meals-on-wheels services is working. When Sláintecare was being devised, it was estimated that we would need 30,000 fair deal beds by 2025. Today, there are 23,200 people in fair deal beds, which is 400 fewer than in 2019. People are presenting to nursing homes with far more complex needs than was the case previously because they want to stay at home for longer. This year, we will deliver 23.4 million hours of home care. Between July of last year and July 2024, we delivered 1 million more home care hours. I have secured enough funding for next year to get to 24 million hours. We will support approximately 59,000 people. The triangle of supports, comprising home care, day care and meals-on-wheels services, is paying dividends. It is people's will and preference to stay in their own home for as long as possible.