Nursing Homes Dail Éireann — 2026-02-25 ============================================================ William Aird (FG), Laois I thank the Minister of State for his response and note his comments. It is acknowledged that Ireland’s population is ageing, and this will bring significant challenges. We must plan proactively to meet these needs. There are three HSE nursing homes in County Laois: one in Abbeyleix, St. Brigid's Hospital in Shaen and St. Vincent's community nursing unit in Mountmellick. While I mention St. Vincent's community nursing home, I am delighted to see that the new 50-bed extension is nearing completion. I urge the HSE to proceed without delay with the remaining phases to deliver the full complement of beds. I must make it very clear that the situation in Droimnín nursing home arose from regulatory failure but it now offers the State an opportunity to strengthen public nursing home provision in an area of growing need. This is a chance to secure long-term, high-quality, publicly delivered care for the older people in County Laois. I visited St. Vincent's hospital in Mountmellick the other evening. It is a hospital that is very near and dear to my heart because my late mother worked there for many years. When the new extension or new build is open, I urge the Minister of State to consider revamping the existing rooms that are available in the hospital. That is very important. I walked through the hospital and spoke to people. I know many people who are there and there was not one patient - those who could interact with me - who had nothing but the height of praise. I want to take this opportunity - I do not often get it - to thank all the people and staff in the nursing home in St. Vincent's in Mountmellick. The single biggest problem in St. Vincent's hospital, which Members here all know as public representatives, is to try to get people into it and have beds available. That is the biggest problem. It shows the care and attention the patients are getting in St. Vincent's hospital. There is just one little thing I would ask the Minister of State to raise when he is in discussion there. I hope the church there, which is visited by the patients many times a day on a daily basis, is linked to the new build so people can come and go as they would be used to doing over many years in St. Vincent's. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-25