Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I will take the first few questions and then the Minister can talk specifically about the hospital. Regarding the psychology aspect, I did undertake last week to give the Deputy a very detailed written response and I will do that. I do not for one minute dispute the point the Deputy is making. It is wholly unacceptable and absolutely outrageous that we would say to a child or family that they would be on a list for four or five years. I would rather say there is no service than to say that. I am coming back to the Deputy on this point. The people working there are doing a good job.

On community hospitals, in terms of people going out of hospital who need what we call transition care or stepdown care, we have to give the first bed available because otherwise we would be creating a further backlog in the hospital, creating infection control problems and putting those people at risk. In terms of long-term care, everybody has a choice in their fair deal application as to where they want to go, but it is down to when that becomes available.

I take the Deputy’s point about Dingle. There is a fantastic service there. The regions have approval to open any bed capacity that currently exists within our community nursing units. Recruitment to a place like the peninsula is difficult, and I can no more incentivise public pay policy for staff there than I can for staff in Dublin, where there are different challenges.

On the matter of the industrial schools, I am very familiar with the protest outside. I think we all have to recognise those are very difficult circumstances, but it is a matter for the Department of education. We will provide the health supports to whatever scheme, ultimately, the Department of education puts in place for people.

Turning to the Deputy’s point on respite, he mentioned St. John of God, but that is the responsibility of the Minister for disability. I would hope the people in this committee and every other committee would assist me because I think I have been very clear with the Cabinet committee on disability that the biggest and most impactful intervention we could make in 2026 is additional respite. I obviously await the budget determination on that topic. I will hand over to the Minister to comment on the hospital.