Ms Bernadette Egan:

Absolutely. It is important that we encourage people to stay in their homes as they age. With Covid-19 in particular we have seen shortcomings in the nursing home model of care. There must be additional funding to ensure people who age and, unfortunately, develop impairments are encouraged to adapt and reuse their homes. Much can be done and as an architect I know there are possibilities in houses. We just have to rethink how to use the spaces in existing houses. That costs money so it is very important the funding is there and we encourage people to stay in their homes as much as possible.