Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Wynne for her question. I am familiar with Cahercalla community hospital and Dr. Michael Harty, who used to sit on that side of the House in the previous Dáil. I visited the hospital and will meet Dr. Harty again in the next few weeks. The Deputy is correct, in that 3.5% of all nursing homes in Ireland are voluntary not-for-profits. They do not have the same economies of scale or the necessary capital to be HIQA-compliant. I allocated €10 million in recent months to support such nursing homes in carrying out any works they needed to be HIQA-compliant, with up to €25,000 for each nursing home, but I am conscious of the fact that the voluntary sector is challenged. We are examining this matter. I look forward to meeting Dr. Harty.

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