Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course. Patients are of paramount importance. It is very important that the truth is put out there in a factual way. I know that there was a concern in both communities that these facilities were shutting but this is only a temporary measure. It makes sense to brief people and keep them factually aware of the situation so that myths and misinformation do not spread.

In terms of nurses, I fully agree with Deputy Butler. Obviously, we will have the public service pay commission report shortly. That is a broader process and one for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform but that will provide an avenue for discussion. We have just agreed a number of exciting proposals with the INMO and SIPTU to help to recruit and retain nurses, including under the Bring Them Home campaign. Nurses were offered €1,500 to move back from the UK to Ireland and that sum has now been doubled to €3,000 and it does not just apply to the UK anymore. We also have a number of pre-retirement initiatives to enable older nurses who may wish to stay on and work part time rather than full time to do so without negatively impacting their pension entitlements.

Deputy Butler is right about the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, registration process. I recently visited the NMBI's offices. The board is about to go fully digital which should help in making sure that the organisation is not swamped. It is quite busy in terms of receiving applications but digitisation should lead to a more streamlined process.

The beds provided by public nursing homes like Dungarvan Community Hospital and St. Patrick's in Cashel are an essential part of our health care infrastructure. Without them, many older people would not have access to the care that they need. However, as I said already, quality care and patient safety are priorities and all decisions must be made in the interests of patient safety. At present, these two units do not have sufficient nursing staff to safely maintain the full range of services. Therefore, the HSE is obliged to take the appropriate steps for the management of the patient profile and the staffing resources available.

I reiterate that I am assured that these are temporary measures. Any decisions to close beds are taken in the interest-----

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