Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Senator has not asked a question. I appreciate that the capacity issue is a challenge for us. As part of the Project 2040 plan, it is planned that 2,600 additional beds will be put into the system. As a policymaker, I am focusing on alternative models of care so that we that we do not end up relying on nursing homes as the only alternative to the home. I have taken many strides to develop new supported independent living models. We are looking at developing demonstrator sites around the country as part of the move towards new futuristic models of care of the elderly. There might be a mix of tenancies at such a site, or there might be a crèche there to bring a bit of life into it. That would ensure old people are not just facing other old people. Practical supports are needed.

As I have mentioned previously, I visited Kilmaley, County Clare, at an early stage in my time in this portfolio. There are 30 elderly people living in 30 units in this tiny rural village. There is a primary care centre and a meals on wheels centre in the middle of it. The day I visited, a mother and baby or toddler group was meeting there. There was a lot of life on-site. There is somebody on duty 24 hours a day to provide assistance at a lighter level of intervention to the 30 people living there. I was interested to hear that in the 20 years or so that this premises has been operating, nobody has ever left to go into a nursing home. The lives of residents have ended on-site or in acute hospitals. We can develop and enhance models with the use of technology and a bit of creativity as a means of supporting people to live independently and fully on their own up to the end of their lives. That is the ambition we must have, while also providing nursing home beds.