Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The opposite argument is made about residential care. Some 80% of those in residential care are minded in private nursing homes. They argue that they achieve far better value for money than the HSE. There will be a report making its way to my desk on that very issue very shortly. One could argue the toss all day on the issue of public versus private, but the HSE will use private staff when it does not have staff. I am quite happy with it taking on a private service to provide care if it does not have the staff to provide it. The idea of having a new statutory scheme is that we would have ample staff in the right locations available to deliver the service. That is our ambition. Whether we will achieve it, I do not know. We may always rely on the private sector, but I am not going to denigrate the private contribution to the care of the elderly when 80% of residents in nursing homes are cared for in private nursing homes.

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