Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a difference of €744 per bed per week between the cost of a nursing home bed in a public nursing home and the cost of such a bed in a private nursing home. This does not make sense. In County Laois, for instance, the average cost is €2,585 per public bed while the average cost of a private bed in a private nursing home is €1,039. That is a difference of 148%. Why is there such a disparity? The problem now is that it is difficult to get people out of hospitals. The nursing homes cannot pay for the additional staff they require because of the moneys they are receiving under the fair deal scheme, yet the public nursing homes are costing over €744 more than the private nursing homes. Can this issue be dealt with?

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