Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The €25 million in question is ring-fenced. I agree with Deputy John O'Mahony's comments; it would be unsatisfactory for the process to run to six months. The only way people would wait until March of next year after having applied now would be if we did nothing. It will happen if we do nothing, but that is not what we will do. We are committed to acting; it is not as if this issue is going away. This is not a problem that can be resolved in a week. It will continue and worsen, which is why we need a plan. We are not at the point of crisis, which can only occur if we do nothing about the issue and allow it to continue. There must be a plan to deal with an issue coming down the road. There are families suffering badly and, equally, there are people in hospital of a later vintage who do not want to be in there. They are conscious that this matter is being discussed in the media and in here, so we should not add to their distress. Deputy Mattie McGrath may not like to hear that fact.

There are just over 2,000 people awaiting approval for the Fair Deal scheme, but these are not the same 2,000 people every month. There are 788 people in acute hospital beds, and these are not the same people every month. Every month we issue 515 allowances to people who are awaiting approval for the fair deal scheme, and these people come off the list. They get a bed in a long-stay care home or a type of step-down respite. We need more of this.

Mount Carmel is part of the process and it will be the first community hospital in Dublin city. There are community hospitals around the country and Deputies Mattie McGrath, Denis Naughten and John O'Mahony all know them. In Cork we have a substantial community hospital that deals with old-age psychiatry and all it entails. Mount Carmel will deal with long- and short-stay cases as well as providing the intensive rehabilitation that people need after hip or knee procedures. There is also scope for intensive physiotherapy.

There is a plan, but it must be put into action. Deputy Denis Naughten spoke of a delay, but this will only happen if we do nothing, which is not an option. It is not as if this will go away. We know the number of people over 65 is increasing every year by 20,000, with the number of people over 80 increasing by 4% every year. Those people will need more services. There is a big difficulty with our acute hospitals and it is not just about people who are inappropriately placed. Accident and emergency departments are clogged because there is nowhere in a hospital for people to go. As there is a knock-on effect throughout the system, we must act. We have a substantial plan, which we have discussed in great detail.

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