Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 5 October 2023

Committee on Public Petitions

Closure of Vital Health Services: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Tess O'Donovan:

Again, the Deputy will be familiar with waiting lists and people putting their name down for a setting or place they wish to move to. In this case, people do settle. There is an assessment made as the beds will come on stream. The original cohort is a prioritised group. However, they may have settled and if they have, it does not become an issue. We have a waiting list. We have waiting lists for all our community facilities, including mental health, and we work our way through. Many of the decisions come down to the care needs of the individual and whether that care can be provided in the location near them, and sometimes it cannot.