Dr. Colm O'Reardon:

The review is quite a technical piece of work, so the Department needs to look at it and brief the Minister on it and take him through it. The difference between the price in the public and private care settings is long established and has been there since the scheme was introduced. In terms of the direction of policy, it has been the policy for a long time to work to develop a statutory home care scheme. The two things are not mutually exclusive. We think we will have to continue to provide residential care into the future and it will always be part of the suite of policies that exist in this area. However, there is an urgent need to work ahead and develop the statutory home care scheme to ensure we are providing the maximum amount of care with the maximum value for money.