'If I was an 80-year-old lady living at home I could get a lot more services than when I move to a private nursing home'

Mary Burke, director of nursing at Killure Bridge Nursing Home in Waterford. 

Private nursing homes struggle to offer the same therapies as public homes or public community services, as operators called for greater equality in funding and services across the sector.

The issue was raised at the Nursing Homes Ireland conference in Kilkenny on Thursday.