James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reject out of hand the contention that the Deputy is trying to make that we are privatising the administration of the scheme - we are certainly not. The subsection states:

(b) The Executive may enter into an arrangement with a person under which that person may perform any part of the Executive's function arising under paragraph (a) on behalf of the Executive.”.

The effect of the Deputy's amendment is twofold. First, it would delete the provision which would enable the HSE to outsource some of its functions under the scheme. Second, it would insert a provision requiring the HSE to ensure that the application process for the scheme is user-friendly and that applicants are assisted at all stages.

The programme for Government makes a commitment that a Government-wide review will be carried out to identify and eliminate non-priority programmes and outsource, where appropriate, non-critical functions. I have stated previously that this provision is only enabling in nature and that there are no specific functions under consideration for outsourcing at this time.

However, should it be deemed appropriate or desirable in the future to outsource any elements of the scheme, this provision would facilitate that process. We all know the State's financial situation. We cannot say that circumstances would never arise whereby services could prudently and efficiently be provided in the private sector. Moreover, if a case could be made that outsourcing a certain function would free up existing staff to assist in other areas or facilitate the recruitment of additional front­line staff, this would have to be considered.

With regard to the provision that this amendment proposes to insert, I would argue that terms such as "user-friendly" and "straightforward and comprehensible" are subjective and, as such, cannot be legislated for. In addition, applications are processed by local nursing home support offices which are available to assist applicants, or potential applicants, with any queries they have. The legislation also enables various categories of representative to assist a person with the application process.

The HSE is always striving to ensure that the application process is as user-friendly as possible. The documentation for the scheme has been revised in the past and will be revised again after the Bill is enacted. Furthermore, the review of the nursing homes support scheme will include consideration of the ease of use of the application process. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.

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