Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

While the Minister of State may say that it is the nursing homes that must pay the fees, the fact is that many nursing homes are passing on that fee to the residents. One hundred and ninety euro per place is quite a lot of money to an elderly person who has very little left in his or her pension to pay for other extras like chiropody, physiotherapy and other things that may not be covered under the fair deal. What will the Government do to make those nursing homes not charge that money to their patients? The Minister of State has just said that under the 2007 Act, only what is contracted for is meant to be charged. I presume this would not have been in the contract when the nursing home residents came in. Can the Minister of State clarify that she will tell the nursing home owners not to charge the residents?

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