Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 13, line 34, to delete "15 working days" and substitute "10 working days".

I will speak to amendments Nos. 12, 23, 30, 32, 34, 42, 43, 50, 58, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, 86, 89, 91, 92 and 93. On Committee Stage the Minister indicated she would consider a number of issues relating to timeframes. She indicated she would consider the reduction of timeframes for notifying applicants from 15 working days to ten. Amendments Nos. 12, 23, 32, 34, 43, 58, 73, 89, 91 and 92 reflect that commitment. They provide that the HSE must notify an applicant of any decision within ten working days of making that decision.

The Minister also committed to considering an issue raised by one stakeholder in regard to the standardisation of the timeframes within the Bill. Accordingly, amendments Nos. 42, 50, 74, 75, 77, 79, 86 and 93 seek to standardise the timeframes in the Bill with a few notable exceptions so that all refer to working days rather than days. This is beneficial from the perspective of administrative simplicity and will also ensure greater clarity for applicants to the scheme.

The Minister also indicated she would accept current amendment No. 31 as proposed by Deputy Reilly. However, I propose amendment No. 30 in place of amendment No. 31 in acknowledgement of the standardisation of timeframes as they relate to the working day as outlined above.

Amendment No. 71 reflects a commitment to Deputy Reilly to increase the timeframe for nursing home proprietors notifying the HSE. It proposes to increase the timeframe from 48 hours to three working days in cases where a resident dies or is discharged and requires the nursing home proprietor to notify the HSE. I ask the Deputies to support all these amendments.

I note amendment No. 72 submitted by Deputy Reilly, which proposes to alter the timeframe for notification by the HSE to a nursing home of an alteration in the level of financial support provided to a person from 15 working days to immediately. I emphasise that this timeframe will be reduced to ten working days.

I also clarify that the amendment is unnecessary. As mentioned previously, the HSE will provide financial support on behalf of individuals by way of bloc monthly payments to nursing homes rather than on a weekly basis. As such, the timeframe of ten working days will allow the HSE notify a proprietor of all alterations in the level of financial support payable to all residents within the nursing home at the time of or prior to making bloc payments. From an administrative perspective, this will enable a more efficient approach to be adopted.

Where a person's level of financial support alters, he or she will be notified within ten working days. Any timeframe for notifying the nursing home proprietor must be consistent with this and I cannot commit to a timeframe that would result in more beneficial treatment for the nursing home proprietor than the nursing home resident, as that would be disrespectful to the resident. For such reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.

Amendments Nos. 76, 78 and 80 all propose to amend the timeframe for notification of a change in circumstances of a connected person from 30 days to three months. This timeframe will generally relate to where a person has sold the principal private residence or has ceased to qualify as a connected person. As such, the timeframe outlined in the Bill must be considered in conjunction with the timeframe for notifying Revenue of amounts due for collection. For this reason, I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 76, 78 and 80.

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