What’s wrong with pensioners having to contribute towards their care?

“HERE we go again,” I sighed on reading Cllr Michael Gleeson’s claptrap (‘Great woman robbed by the state’, Irish Examiner letters, August 15).

When one considers the enormous cost of running nursing homes - a cost which is reflected in the fees being paid by private patients and their families - one wonders what all the fuss is about. (We mustn’t assume that all fee-paying patients are well-to-do. In many cases, adult offspring are struggling to pay charges between them).

Why on earth shouldn’t Cllr Gleeson’s late friend, and others in her situation, have to give up their pensions to help a little towards paying their way?