Ms Anne O'Connor:

I do not know whether the Department has a specific cost breakdown for residential care of people with dementia. When it comes to dementia, the cost of care does not necessarily reflect dependency rates. We know that many people in long-term residential care have dementia and it has become a much more prevalent condition courtesy of the ageing population, etc. Caring for people with dementia has become more of a business as usual thing. As the Deputy correctly said, the dependency level of those residents is higher.