Mr. Bernard Gloster:

The HSE is taking measures all the time to develop its own capacity where and when it can. We have also used private nursing home beds outside of the NTPF nursing home support scheme for short-stay care. We use a lot of private nursing homes for transition care, where we pay the nursing home directly to care for people for periods of between two, three, four, and in some cases, six and eight weeks while their care is transitioning. On the core issue that the Deputy is raising, of the difference in the price per bed or the cost per bed between public and private, that is not for us to comment on. We do not set the rate for private nursing homes.