Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

——and a key priority is supporting people to stay in their own homes and communities and moving away from the practice of placing people in residential care as a first option. The Minister said that currently we do not offer enough support to high dependency patients who want to remain at home. She is determined to change this and expects to see major increases in home care packages as the winter approaches.

I was also glad to hear the Tánaiste state on another occasion that she will examine the area of nursing home subventions. In that context, we are considering the value of €95,000 being placed on a person's home. I do not know what kind of housing one would get for €95,000 when we all know that the price of an average second-hand home in Dublin is approximately €400,000. The Minister, Deputy Harney, and the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, are examining new initiatives to support the elderly in society.