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

I cannot tell the Deputy who made the individual decision in this particular case, because I do not know, but I can tell her how the system works or does not. The first step in the application process is a care needs assessment to identify whether an applicant needs long-term nursing home care. This is carried out by a health care professional appointed by the HSE by means of a common summary assessment report, CSAR. That includes consideration of a person's ability to carry out his or her activities, the medical health and personal social services being provided, the family and community support available and the person's wishes and preferences. Once the assessment is made, it is submitted to the local placement forum, which, in all locations, consists of a multidisciplinary team supported, in general and where available, by a consultant geriatrician. That is the process but it did not work in this case. We need to understand why and whether the rules need to be changed so that elderly couples in similar scenarios in other parts of the country are not separated in this way. The Deputy has my undertaking and that of the Minister that we will do exactly that.

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