I start by thanking Deputy Micheál Carrigy for bringing students from Scoil Samhthann in Ballinalee in County Longford to the Public Gallery here today. Many of them are there behind me, including my own cousin, who has very strong connections with west Cork. Aisling Hennessy is here with her fellow students and teachers. They are most welcome.

The private nursing home sector provides an invaluable service to the State with the provision of long-term, short-stay and convalescent beds to the older people in our society. We have a situation at the Aperee nursing home, formerly the Deerpark nursing home, in Bantry where a local private nursing home has gone into receivership. It cannot operate to its full potential as it seems HIQA has a difficulty with it being in receivership, even though negotiations with potential buyers are at an advanced stage. HIQA will not allow the admission of new clients. The nursing home has 18 empty beds and there are seven clients in Bantry General Hospital who wish to avail of these beds. Doing so would make seven acute beds available to Bantry General Hospital. Nine clients originally from the Bantry area are in other nursing homes in counties Cork and Kerry and want to move back to the Bantry area to be close to their families. Can the Tánaiste ensure this situation is rectified speedily so the nursing home can operate to its full potential and beds are made available in the acute hospital that can be utilised for those currently waiting on trolleys? This is not an internal nursing home compliance issue. Simply put, it is a paperwork issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

I thank Deputy Collins. I watched in admiration how he managed to bring a Longford school back to a Cork connection. It was nicely done and I join him in welcoming the students Deputy Carrigy has brought to the Dáil today. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day.

I thank Deputy Collins for his question and for raising this important issue. He and I know that HIQA is the statutory independent regulator. We all appreciate that and the role it has to play in ensuring nursing homes are safe and effective.

It is important that they always work closely with nursing home providers and that any restrictive conditions attached to a nursing home are resolved between HIQA and the providers. I join the Deputy in urging a speedy resolution to ensure our older and most vulnerable citizens can have access to services located close to their loved ones in the Bantry area. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy directly.