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

I did not have time to jot down all the Deputy's questions so I ask him to repeat them if I miss any. I absolutely agree that the coronavirus is a national emergency. The Government declared the emergency some time ago, and that emergency exists not just in nursing homes and care homes but also in hospitals and the community. It is a health emergency and an economic emergency, and it could yet become a fiscal emergency. I do not believe, however, that the emergency is confined to nursing homes. It is a wider emergency than that.

As for the nursing homes in Ireland, as is the case in most countries and as has always been the case in Ireland, we have a mix of nursing homes. Some are provided directly by the HSE, some are voluntary, while some are private, for-profit nursing homes. I have yet to see any evidence that indicates that the proportion of cases in nursing homes that are private versus public is higher, or vice versa, or that the number of deaths per population in private versus public is higher or lower. I know that people have views on the matter but I like to base views and opinions on facts, and I have yet to see any facts that show that the private or public ones are performing better or worse than the other in terms of the numbers of cases or deaths.

Again, I ask people not to jump to those kinds of conclusions if the facts are not there and to be responsible in their commentary. As I said earlier, there are lots of people in nursing and care homes who are terrified of getting the virus and lots of their relatives and friends are worried for them. We should make sure that what we do and say is entirely fact based.

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