Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the person who set up HIQA, I take its guidance seriously. It has been very effective in increasing standards in health in this country since its initiation in the early 2000s. We take its point of view seriously because we want to protect and do everything we can to support smaller nursing homes as well because they are important in local communities for obvious reasons such as proximity to families and so forth.

It is important, therefore, that we do whatever we can to underpin nursing homes. I get the sense that since Covid-19, State underpinning of nursing homes is growing. It was a very significant intervention during Covid in addition to the nursing homes support scheme itself. We have a significant inflationary package coming in before the end of the year to support nursing homes to get through the energy crisis. Then there is the issue of the pricing arrangements, which are set by the NTPF, in terms of increasing those or at least having a serious discussion. There have been a number of reviews undertaken here so it is not as if people do not know there is work under way, because there is, on trying to get the right formula that would make ends meet for the nursing homes concerned.

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