Ms Anne O'Connor:

As regards the calculations of the cost, I cannot speak for the NTPF but from our perspective the costs are higher in public centres for a number of reasons and that has been the case historically. I mentioned the staff already as staff rates and conditions in public nursing homes lead to a higher charge. The conditions and physical build of many HSE facilities would also be poorer than those in the private nursing home sector. There have been incentives for the development of private nursing homes. We have an improvement programme but the environment would require us to have different costs associated with older buildings. As regards occupancy, the reality for some HSE units is that we are the provider of last resort in some areas. Our cost of care is calculated by occupancy rates and in some of our units we are not filling all of our beds. However, we have to maintain a unit. That would not necessarily be the case in a private nursing home. The costs have to capture all of that and so they are higher. We are looking at the different supports and I know concerns have been expressed about the range of supports provided in public and private homes and so on. The expert review group and the work that would be undertaken was mentioned earlier. That is what underpins the higher cost in public units and it is on that basis that the cost of care is set by the NTPF.