William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)

I put in a parliamentary question and received a reply on the 14 October, outlining exactly what the Minister of State has said. Funding of the sum of €23.7 million was allocated for a 130-bed facility in St. Vincent's in 2016. The project is being carried out in phases, including work on a new 50-bed unit. Will the Minister of State give a firm commitment that the overall capacity will be a 130-bed unit when all phases are complete? I refer to the existing facility in St. Vincent's in Mountmellick, which I know very well because my late mother was a nurse there for many years. A special occasion was when we went to look at the Christmas decorations at Christmas and to visit the patients who were there. I want to make sure we can keep the number of beds we have there. As a politician - we are all politicians at the end of the day working on behalf of the people in our communities - the single biggest issue raised in my clinics every day is by people who are trying to get their loved ones into one of the nursing homes. It is very difficult. There is no capacity in any private residential nursing homes. As has been said, the nursing home in Portlaoise is closed at the moment, which puts huge pressure on the situation. I am asking the Ministers of State and the Minister if they can do everything possible for us.

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