Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I understand the HSE is working on plans for the provision of additional capacity in this area. Several years ago, my Department proposed to provide 850 beds by way of a public private partnership. However, this proposal never advanced, as it ran into difficulties with the Departments of Health and Children and Finance in respect of costings and so on. Instead, capacity was purchased in the private sector. With tax-based incentives for the expansion of this area in the private sector, many facilities have been provided.

That said, the private sector will not fulfil our needs in this matter. For example, it is increasingly difficult to acquire public or private sector capacity in the centre of Dublin. For older people in Dublin 1, Dublin 3 and Dublin 8 to acquire nursing home places, they would need to move quite a distance from their communities and families, which is unacceptable.

The HSE is working on a proposal to perhaps use public facilities, such as St. Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park, Cherry Orchard or elsewhere. We must be imaginative, acquire facilities and adapt them for the use of older people, as it is a priority. Not only is it a priority for older people, their families and society, it is also a priority in terms of resolving some of the issues in the acute hospital system. Recently, up to 400 people were medically discharged by their doctors per day but were not in positions to leave because there were no alternative places to which they could go. This is not a good use of the acute hospital system, which is not a good place to be if people do not need to be there. For a number of reasons, we must address this issue.

See this speech in context