Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"— notes the introduction by the Government of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme which legally defined eligibility for long term nursing home care and which addressed the previous inequity by equalising State support for those in public, private and voluntary nursing homes;

— notes that the HSE has received almost 16,500 applications for the Fair Deal Scheme to date, of which over 12,250 have been approved with other applications continuing to be processed on a daily basis;

— notes that the budget in respect of long term care for 2010 for the Fair Deal Scheme and for those remaining in public long stay facilities and receiving subvention in private facilities is over €979 million in 2010;

— recognises that eligibility for in-patient services under section 52 of the Health Act 1970 has always been subject to, inter alia, the availability of resources;

— notes that the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman relates primarily to administrative actions and does not encompass issues such as Government policy, legislation passed by the Oireachtas, the conduct of litigation by the State and the wider governmental process;

— notes that the representations submitted to the Ombudsman set out very clearly the Minister's views on extracts from the draft report and were endorsed by the Government;

— notes with concern the way this particular investigation was undertaken and, in particular, the failure to follow fair procedures;

— notes this Government's commitment to services for older people which, as well as the introduction of a national scheme of financial support for long term residential care (Fair Deal) and the introduction of new standards, regulations and inspections for designated centres for older people, has also seen an additional €200 million invested in community services such as home help, home care packages, meals on wheels and day/respite care; and

— supports the Minister's plans to continue to develop and improve services for older people."

See this speech in context