More than 70 residents of Beaumont Residential Care in Cork city face an uncertain future after the owners of the centre told relatives last week that they will exit the fair deal scheme at the end of May if the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, does not increase payments to them. Does the Minister agree that no resident should be evicted from any nursing home and that the State has a responsibility to ensure this is the case? Does she also agree that it is not acceptable to give three weeks' notice of such an outcome? Given that the owners of this nursing home own a chain of 14 nursing homes throughout the State and is, in turn, owned by the giant French corporation, InfraVia, does the Minister further agree that its books should be open to inspection not only by representatives of the State, but also by representatives of the relatives?

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The nursing home sector in Ireland is very fragmented, with 15 companies owning 10,700 beds and, on the other side of the equation, we have small family-run community nursing homes the length and breadth of the country that are embedded in the community. Last week, I met NTPF officials to discuss ways to support the sector where necessary and appropriate to complement the normal process of negotiating rate increases where contracts are renewed.

However, my priority has to be the residents. Some 22,500 people are supported every year to remain in nursing homes. Last year, the cost to the State was €1.4 billion; one twentieth of the entire health budget was paid out, with €1 billion being paid to private nursing homes. I have to make sure the budget lasts from 1 January at the start of the year to 31 December, the last day at the end of the year, to support older people to remain in nursing homes.