Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, Deputy Jim Daly, on his appointment. As chairperson of the all-party working group on dementia, I look forward to working with him on the issue of older people.

Thankfully, people are now living longer and most of us will live independently for the rest of our lives. Less than 5% of elderly people require care late in life and every effort should be made to facilitate this. Under the nursing home support scheme introduced in 2009, often referred to as the fair deal scheme, the State offers financial support to people whose care needs indicate they require long-term residential care. The scheme covers the cost of the standard components of long-term residential care, namely, nursing and personal care appropriate to the level of care needs of the person; bed and board; basic aids and appliances necessary to assist a person with the activities of everyday living; and laundry service.

Age Action Ireland, which does fantastic work to protect elderly people, has uncovered disturbing cases that some nursing homes are ripping off the elderly. Last week, it published a new briefing paper on nursing home charges which states that older people and their families are being prevented from choosing nursing homes under the fair deal scheme because of additional charges. One of the key principles of the fair deal scheme is that older people have choice and no one is prevented from choosing the nursing home he or she prefers for reasons of income. However, steadily increasing charges imposed by nursing homes are pricing older people and their families out of the market because the extra charges are a step too far for some families. When someone is completely dependent on the State pension, as many people are, he or she is left with only €50 per week after making the contribution levied under the fair deal scheme. Obviously, he or she will not be able to afford an additional charge of up to €200 per month imposed by some nursing homes for social activities.

While nursing homes are permitted to charge additional fees to fair deal residents for certain services, some of these services may be required to be provided by the Health Information and Quality Authority. Age Action Ireland has uncovered abuses in charges to the elderly for services such as social activities, incontinence wear and therapies. Residents, some of whom are of limited means, face charges ranging from €15 to €100 per week. As a result, they have only limited funds to buy clothes or gifts for grandchildren, which can cause them distress.

Openness, transparency and accountability are key for every service provider and we all have a reasonable expectation to be made aware of the cost of any service we buy or employ. It is not too much to expect that fees charged by nursing homes should be publicly available online and easy to understand and that patients should be informed of extra costs they may incur prior to taking up residency. In this regard, I welcome the response from Nursing Homes Ireland, which has made clear that nursing homes must be transparent in pricing and long-term care. The organisation also provides all members with a template contract for care. I look forward to the Minister of State's comments on the issue.

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