There is a difference of €744 per bed per week between the cost of a nursing home bed in a public nursing home and the cost of such a bed in a private nursing home. This does not make sense. In County Laois, for instance, the average cost is €2,585 per public bed while the average cost of a private bed in a private nursing home is €1,039. That is a difference of 148%. Why is there such a disparity? The problem now is that it is difficult to get people out of hospitals. The nursing homes cannot pay for the additional staff they require because of the moneys they are receiving under the fair deal scheme, yet the public nursing homes are costing over €744 more than the private nursing homes. Can this issue be dealt with?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres, as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. This is often linked to higher staffing levels and the more complex care needs of the residents who are there. The HSE will always step in where residents' needs are sufficiently complex and they cannot be cared for elsewhere in the community or in a private nursing home. The HSE needs to be staffed to deliver that kind of complex care.