Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Everything that is wrong with long-term nursing care in the State was brought home to me recently when a man from Kerry with complex needs who required a nursing home was refused acceptance by every private nursing home in the county. His son, who visited him for the 100 days he was in hospital, now has to drive one hour and 40 minutes if he wants to visit him at a nursing home in Cork. Seven or eight years ago, the discharge nurse at University Hospital Kerry told me that 70 extra beds in the county would solve the problem. Since then, however, the number of public beds has decreased and the number of private beds, which are owned by approximately 15 companies, has increased. Is the Government going to take steps to increase the percentage of public beds so that situations like the one in question do not arise in future?

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