Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Additional resources have been provided and consultations are taking place on the matter with stakeholders, including Nursing Homes Ireland. The Deputy makes a valid point about efficiency. While I am not sure precisely how applications are processed, I would be concerned if applications were allowed to mount before being examined one by one. In such circumstances, an application could be left in a pile for several weeks before an administrator identifies that something is missing. It would make sense to carry out an initial check to ensure all the documents are in order. Any steps that would make the process more efficient would be welcome. I meet periodically with representatives of the NMBI, and the chief nursing officer in the Department meets them more regularly than I do. We will definitely raise this matter in our conversations.

See this speech in context