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

The scheme was temporary. Like all temporary schemes, it has to come to an end. The big change that has happened in nursing homes is that the residents and staff are now almost all fully vaccinated. Thankfully, the number of cases and outbreaks has been, and continues to be, very small. However, infection control is always a good thing, particularly in nursing homes. What probably needs to happen is an engagement involving the sector, the National Treatment Purchase Fund, the Department of Health and the HSE with a view to enhancing the existing scheme and taking account of the increased costs that have arisen as a result of the need to improve infection control into the future.

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