Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Very clear protocols are in place before a patient will be transferred from an acute hospital back to a nursing home. That is for two reasons. One is the well-being of the patient and to ensure he or she is clinically fit to be discharged from the hospital, while the other is the well-being of other patients and to ensure that the coronavirus has definitely left the patient and does not spread. I assure families that clinical guidance and assessment is taken in this regard. I also assure the people of Ireland that HIQA tells me that many nursing homes are dealing with Covid-19 very well. They are working really hard. We know more than 400 nursing homes are seeking various degrees of support and assistance, but we know that about 70 of them are in serious difficulty or face a serious challenge. That means that many of them that have the coronavirus or Covid-19, just like we could in our homes, are managing it well. I say that to try to provide some reassurance to families.

See this speech in context