Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The nursing homes support scheme, NHSS, commonly referred to as fair deal, is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. It was designed to protect and support vulnerable older people, to ensure equal access to nursing home care based on what they could afford. This gives certainty to people and families.

Funding to support people to access services in the sector continues to be provided in line with the long-established statutory mechanisms under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009.

This is the mechanism established by the Oireachtas at that time to provide for the processes relating to funding under the NHSS and the negotiation of prices for services for private and voluntary providers with the designated State agency, the NTPF. Accordingly, the NTPF does not discuss publicly the details of negotiations with individual nursing homes. That is the first point I have to make. Neither Ministers nor the Department of Health have a role in price negotiations with individual nursing homes, as determined by the legislation set out in 2009.

More than 425 private and voluntary nursing homes currently negotiate their deed of agreement to agree the price they can charge for a fair deal resident under the NHSS directly with the NTPF. Maximum prices for individual nursing homes are agreed with the NTPF following negotiations and based on the NTPF’s cost criteria, such as costs reasonably incurred by the nursing home, local market prices, historical prices and overall budgetary capacity. Anyone who has had a scheduled renegotiation of their deed of agreement this year with the NTPF has seen a significant uplift.

To be very clear, Government funding for fair deal is to support vulnerable older people, to whom the Deputy referred, at a time in their lives when full-time care is essential. This is a very difficult decision for families and their loved ones, and it is often made at a time of crisis. That is why it is essential that I, as Minister with responsibility for older people, ensure that the budget for fair deal, which is a substantial €1.5 billion allocation this year, will last from 1 January to 31 December for all who need it. When nursing homes are intending to close or cease participating in the nursing home support scheme, residents and their families must be consulted and given appropriate notice so that new homes can be found and they can be moved in a safe, planned way.

I need to be very clear here. There is no other mechanism for funding from the public purse for nursing home residents outside the nursing home support scheme. The Deputy said there had not been much engagement with the HSE. The HSE does not have a role with regard to the funding.

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