Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2015
439. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his plans, to construct a 100-bedroom care facility for the elderly in Letterkenny in County Donegal; that this facility will serve the elderly population across County Donegal [36155/15]
View answerPublic beds are a critical part of our overall residential bed capacity, particularly for high-dependency patients. Quality accommodation therefore is important in supporting the needs of those older people and people with a disability who require long term residential care.
In September Minister Varadkar and I announced a €3bn investment package for health services over six years. This included the provision of an additional €300m to support the upgrading of long-term residential facilities for older people and people with a disability.
The additional funding will, building upon the existing projects, allow for an enhanced programme to replace, upgrade and refurbish long term care facilities. This will significantly improve the standard of residential units and facilitate person-centred care. The Department will work with the HSE to prioritise the available funding and the position regarding individual facilities will only become clear after a careful process of prioritisation. Patient welfare will at all times remain an absolute priority.
