Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)

On initial inspection, budget 2025 would appear to be great value for the taxpayers' money. However, I ask any of the Ministers or Ministers of State here if any of the extra beds mentioned in the budget are part of the recently agreed public-private partnership to develop more than 530 public nursing home beds at the developer's stated cost of a whopping €471,698 per bed. Not content with building the most expensive children's hospital the world has ever seen, this Government is now building the most expensive nursing home beds in the world. The deal, which the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, signed off on in 2022, means the HSE will be paying the venture capitalist developer €24 million annually for 25 years. This amounts to an eye-watering total of €600 million, or €1,132,000 per bed of taxpayers' money. Does the Government think this is value for money? Where is the value for the taxpayers? Where is the oversight? Was this even put out to tender? There are multiple specialist builders who could deliver the same high-quality facilities for just under €200,000.

Nursing home sector costs are so out of control here. Why is the Government allowing this insanity? Sure why not spend almost €1.2 million on a bed because it is only taxpayers' money? Like the national children's hospital, these nursing home beds promised for 2024 are not finished either. This is yet another fiasco to sit alongside the bicycle shed and the security hut and yet more proof that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil cannot be trusted with the public's money. Our population is ageing and we need more affordable nursing home beds at a normal value-for-money cost that would be delivering for our older people and not this Government paying public money through the nose for the same beds. It is time to call a stop to the reckless and feckless spendthrift ways of this Government. It is time to call an election.

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