Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----Mr. Paul Reid, the newly appointed director general of the HSE, has just received a series of briefings from senior HSE managers, including the warning that there will be a deficit in relation to fair deal funding over the course of this year of up to €30 million. This will contribute to an ever-increasing backlog of elderly patients in hospital wards moving into long-term residential care. Would the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and his Cabinet colleagues not recognise that there is a crisis in terms of care of the elderly in the State and it needs to be addressed urgently, and with the prioritisation that it deserves? Will the Minister advise what steps will now be taken?

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