Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The Tánaiste is again avoiding the issue. The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 gave everyone over 70 a statutory entitlement to inpatient care. I am not asking the Tánaiste to tell me how much it will cost or whether it can be provided. I am merely asking whether we are exposed to significant costs going into the future and what the Tánaiste's thoughts on the matter are? She is skirting the issue. We should forget about the courts because we are not answerable to them. The events of last week have shown us that we do not have to wait for them to make their decision. We should try to pre-empt the outcome and deal with it. Can the Tánaiste clearly tell the House whether a problem exists and whether we will end up changing the 2001 legislation if we wish to incur savings? Can she tell us whether everyone over 70 has a statutory entitlement to free public or private nursing home care?

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