Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)

It is taking far too long. The Social Democrats have concerns about the financialisation of elder care. In 2020, at the height of Covid, Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar said the model of care for older people had to change. Since then, the very large-scale commercial nursing home model has increased despite the fact it was deemed to be no longer fit for purpose. Ireland, alongside England, now has the most privatised nursing home system in Europe, with 81% of all nursing home beds in the State being privately run. Of even greater concern is the fact that very large investment funds now hold one third of all nursing home beds in the State. Eight years ago, those firms had virtually no presence here. While successive Ministers have delayed on the statutory right to home care, private equity providers and real estate investment funds have moved in. How many more of these nursing homes will be allowed before an alternative is put in place? I know the Government accepts that older people should be supported to stay in their homes but this rhetoric must be matched with more action. Expensive private nursing homes cannot be the default option for people. People deserve a right to home care and we need to put the regulations and that statutory right in place.

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