Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The fair deal, or nursing home support, scheme is a very good scheme that has worked well and stood the test of time. I want to recognise the former Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and the Government of which she was a member, for bringing that through. It gives fair access to nursing home support to people when they need it. We are working very hard at the moment to ensure that we keep the turnaround time down to between four and six weeks, which is being achieved. The budget for this is approximately €1 billion a year, which is a huge amount of money which is being invested in nursing home care for our elderly, when they need it.

The heads of the Bill being brought forward by the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, are expected to go to Cabinet in June. That will ensure that the fair deal becomes a fairer deal for people who own a small business and for farmers-----

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