Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The reason for giving incentives a number of years ago was an increase in the aged population. It was correctly argued that in order to provide more facilities for elderly people we should involve the private sector, under clear regulations, in building more nursing homes. That has worked. That is how, in the short term, we have been able to provide discharges of 520 patients to assist in this area. The capital programme and the provision of additional beds is a long-term issue. I instance what we are doing now to identify where additional places are needed and to deal with people who everybody accepts have major problems. We have put in specialist nurses, consultants, rapid assessment teams, clinical decisions units, multi-disciplinary teams. We must continue to do that. These initiatives will help people——

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