Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

Is the Minister facilitating amendment No. 10 in this raft of amendments? We want to ensure the money that comes into the Government's possession as a result of a decision of residents of nursing homes or their families not to take up the refund due to them is earmarked for specific projects and not lost in the general finances of the Department of Health and Children. We are asking that under no circumstances shall funds or any money donated be used in lieu of expenditure that would otherwise have been allocated by the Minister in his normal function and that such money be ring-fenced for projects of benefit to the elderly involved, such as community care units and other necessary facilities that are currently lacking. Such projects would lengthen the time some elderly people would remain outside nursing homes, private or public.

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