Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly.

St. Joseph's in Shankill is a part of the St. John of God Hospitaller Services Group. It provides both residential care and day care for service users, all of whom have a diagnosis of dementia. Many of the 60 residential places are funded through the nursing homes support scheme. Separately, the HSE contracts for approximately 25 day care places per day at St. Joseph's.

The nursing homes support scheme, commonly referred to as the fair deal scheme, is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their means while the State pays the balance of the cost. The scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings. The nursing homes support scheme is expected to support 23,042 people at any one time in 2019. The scheme's budget for 2019 saw an increase of €24.3 million over 2018, making a total budget of €985.8 million for 2019. In 2020, the scheme will see a further investment in its budget of €45 million, bringing the total annual budget for the scheme to €1.03 billion.

This substantial investment will provide ongoing long-term residential care over the course of 2020, ensuring that the scheme can continue to deliver affordable and accessible nursing home care for our citizens with long-term care needs. The NTPF has been designated by the Minister for Health pursuant to section 40 of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 as a body authorised to negotiate with proprietors of non-HSE registered nursing homes to reach agreement on the maximum price that can be charged for the provision of long-term residential care services to nursing homes support scheme residents.

The NTPF has statutory independence in the performance of its function and negotiates with nursing homes on an individual basis. The Minister for Health does not have any role in this regard. The NTPF has clear and established processes for agreeing prices and has successfully negotiated terms with over 430 private and voluntary nursing homes participating in the scheme. The NTPF's processes are available to all nursing homes and since the end of 2017 there has been a net increase in the number of nursing homes operating in Ireland, with an increase of almost 1,300, or 5.7%, in the number of beds in the nursing homes with which the NTPF has agreed terms. In its statutory role to negotiate maximum prices charged for the provision of long-term residential care services to nursing homes support scheme residents, the NTPF established processes are the appropriate mechanism for engagement. The established processes include provision for an NTPF review mechanism where agreement is not initially reached on the price.

The HSE has been involved in extensive engagement with the St. John of God Hospitaller Services Group about the day care service at St. Joseph's and this engagement is ongoing. I acknowledge the role of private and voluntary providers in residential care provision. I encourage the St. John of God group to continue the engagement with the HSE on day care services. I also encourage the continued engagement with the NTPF processes with regard to the prices for the residential care services.

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