I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. Heather House Community Nursing Unit, CNU, provides important and valued services for the people of the northside of Cork city and surrounding areas. There is a typo in the reply. I understand the significant role the CNU plays in the community and the importance of the facility. Heather House Community Nursing Unit was opened in 2011, and a 60-bed extension was added in 2023. The CNU is currently registered with HIQA to accommodate a maximum of 60 residents in two units, namely, Poppy and Lily, which are located in the new extension. The two units in the original building, Daisy and Primrose, are currently closed. The HSE informed me today that the new 17-bed dementia-specific unit is at the final stage for application to register with HIQA. Deputy Gould name-checked 19. HIQA has come back and said that there are two twin rooms and they want them to be single, so it is going from 19 to 17. The HSE advised that the final works, as agreed with HIQA, are in progress and will be completed in the coming weeks. I want to see this unit opened as quickly as possible as well. I am getting directly involved, as Minister of State, to ensure we get it open as quickly as possible. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to working alongside HSE South West to get Primrose, the new dementia-specific unit, opened in Heather House as soon as HIQA registration is obtained. I wish to inform the Deputy that the 25-bed Daisy unit located in the original building is currently undergoing essential fire upgrade works and the HSE advised me that it is scheduled to reopen at the end of 2026. I am going to look at that as well to see if we can expedite the opening of the 25-bed unit. HSE South West has been working to increase the quantity of public nursing home beds in the region to offer further long-term residential care capacity and choice for older people living in Cork city and county. The HSE continues to focus on providing a residential care service focused on quality and safety while also meeting the needs of individual residents. HSE South West continuously reviews the community’s needs in line with population health planning and Sláintecare principles. To this end, it is committed to ensuring that optimal services will continue to be provided and developed for older people in Cork. Older persons' services in Cork will soon be enhanced by the opening of two new community nursing units. St. Finbarr’s in Cork city will have a total of 105 beds and Midleton CNU will have a total of 50 beds. With specific regard to dementia, I advise the Deputy that 30 dementia-specific beds will form part of the bed complement at St. Finbarr’s CNU. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to working alongside the HSE to address all concerns in respect of the residential care of older people in Cork city and county over the coming years. I will give him a commitment that I have already made direct contact with the HSE and with my officials and that this is something I am going to personally follow up on myself. I am going to see what the reasons for the delays are and how we can expedite the opening of the new dementia unit. I also want to look at including the 25-bed unit in the Daisy wing. The key element here is that, if they are all opened, there would be 102 beds within Heather House. That is hugely significant in terms of increased capacity. That is the up-to-date position. I will listen to the Deputy's follow-up and then come back with a closing statement.

Sentiment score: 0.28

Community nursing units such as Heather House form an integral part of local communities and provide invaluable service to the people who live in those communities as they age. I have already outlined that there are currently 60 beds open in Heather House CNU. I will once again reiterate that the new 17-bed dementia unit is at the final stage of applying for registration with HIQA. The HSE advises that the final works agreed with HIQA are in progress and will be completed in the coming weeks. I have to work within a process. The process is that the HSE applies to HIQA and HIQA has to give approval. The unit cannot be opened until HIQA gives its approval. I cannot give the Deputy a final date today because I have to work through that process. However, I will give another commitment. I want to see the unit open as quickly as possible and I am going to get directly involved with Department officials and the HSE to see how it can be expedited. This redesigned Primrose unit will offer a choice in long-term residential care for people with dementia. I agree with the Deputy that dementia units are hugely important. As I have already outlined, the Daisy unit located in the original building is currently undergoing essential fire upgrade works and is scheduled to reopen at the end of the year. I want to see if that can be expedited. When complete, this will bring the total capacity of the Heather House CNU to 102 beds. I am committed to maximising the number of beds for older people. As already mentioned, older persons' services in Cork will soon be enhanced by the opening of two new CNUs, St. Finbarr's in Cork city, which will have 105 beds, and Midleton CNU, which will have a total of 50 beds. I want to see those opened as quickly as possible. I am working with the HSE and the Department to make that happen. I think the Deputy will find they will be opened relatively soon. The HSE continually reviews its services in line with population health planning and Sláintecare principles to ensure adequate and appropriate residential care is available for our older population. I will be following up on Heather House. I ask the Deputy to keep in contact with my office for updates. I will come back to him with a direct update. Any updates I get, I will provide to the Deputy.

Sentiment score: 0.17