Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste. I hear what he said and he made some valid points. When the former Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, addressed the Nursing Homes Ireland annual conference last year, however, he spoke about the changes in regulations and said that these changes had been "stressful" and "have come at a cost and you haven’t been remunerated for that cost." The Tánaiste's own former Minister for Health has recognised this. In my constituency in Sligo, public nursing homes cost 60% more; in Leitrim, 68% more; in Roscommon, 76%; and in Donegal, 81% more. I spoke to nursing home owners who said that especially in the context of Covid-19 their income has dropped. They, rightly, had to go from double rooms to single rooms. Their income has not dropped by 25% or 30%, however, so they have not been able to access State supports such as the employer wage subsidy scheme or the restart grant. They have had help with personal protective equipment, but it is proving especially difficult. The Tánaiste is correct that we do not want a model where enormous profits are made in the sector on the backs of workers but we have to find a way that the smaller rural nursing homes in particular remain sustainable and provide that service.

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