Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right that the whole idea of respite beds is that the family at home, while they love their loved ones and want to care for them at home because that is their wish, needs a break. That is why it is critical that the HSE put in place alternative respite beds so that the families can continue to avail of the opportunity for respite. However, the other aspect of it is that there is a challenge in that older people like routine, they like knowing where they are going, they are used to it and they are used to the staff, so that certainly poses a challenge. That is why the HSE is committed to restoring the services so that people can get back to normal as soon as possible. The key thing here is the recruitment of the staff and getting the required number of nurses into the hospital as soon as possible. That is exactly the direction in which the HSE is going.

To make a general point on the kind of investment that has been secured for community nursing units, the Deputy put his finger on the title of it when he referred to community nursing units and public nursing unit. They are essential to the delivery of care for our older people and people who need palliative care or whatever across the country. We have secured €385 million in capital funding for a programme to replace and refurbish public nursing units across the country. I know the Deputy will welcome this because it will provide an additional 200 beds. The programme includes refurbishment works for Fermoy, the area about which the Deputy is most concerned, which should be finished by 2018.

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