asked the Minister for Health if two beds will be made available for Old IRA men in all geriatric homes under the control of his Department.

The overriding criterion for admission to geriatric homes is on the basis of need having regard to medical, nursing and social considerations.

While I am not, therefore, able to comply with the Deputy's request, I can assure him that health boards always pay special attention to the needs of IRA veterans who require accommodation in geriatric homes.

There are very few Old IRA men left and it would be a nice gesture on our part to make one or two beds available in our geriatric homes for them. Some of them are not in good health and possibly are not well off.

I want to help the Deputy but the Deputy must help the Chair by asking a question.

I ask the Minister to reconsider this and make at least one bed available in each geriatric home under his Department.

I have as much regard for the Old IRA as anybody but would it not be a ludicrous situation to have two beds vacant until some IRA man became so ill that he had to be admitted? As I said, health boards are conscious of this matter and try, as far as they can, to help Old IRA people. But if they were to keep beds available these might be vacant for two years.

Would the Minister not consider giving them special priority on the list?

I am Minister for Health and my concern is for the health of the people irrespective of who they are. The Deputy must appreciate that. To give special consideration to the extent of having beds vacant until an Old IRA man appears and deny them to others who needed them badly would not, I think, be good practice.

Is the Minister aware that geriatric homes are not, in fact, geriatric homes and are being turned into homes for medical cases? It goes further than that. In the various health board areas they are not able to take in an extra patient at the moment even though that patient might have a very high priority for admission to such a home.

That is a different question. I was asked to deal with one particular subject only.

It is absolutely and completely untrue. We have beds available in the Mid-Western Health Board for geriatrics.

These are the naked facts.

I know what I am talking about.

Order. Question No. 34.