Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will raise a few issues. I appreciate that people have been in contact with the Minister, and I hope she has responded and given them whatever reassurance she can. Nobody is looking for a new mechanism. I am not seeking to negotiate this with the Minister of State in the Chamber; I know that is not realistic or the way things work.

As I understand it, the way this works is that the NTPF negotiates directly with nursing homes and that the arrangements are not necessarily the same with each individual nursing home or operator but are made on a case-by-case basis. A negotiation would have occurred in this case. I also know that the uplift that has been offered to CareChoice, which has been publicly disclosed so I am not saying anything new, is approximately €16 per resident compared with approximately €183 in some other publicly run centres. While I accept that the cost basis is different, I do not expect it accounts for that level of discrepancy. I understand CareChoice is open to renegotiation and further discussion with the NTPF. It seems, however, that the NTPF is not coming back to CareChoice and is not willing to find solutions. Nobody is looking for a new mechanism. Negotiations leading to a fair outcome are being sought, which is reasonable. I appreciate that the Minister cannot get into the nitty-gritty of any contract and that there are lengthy and substantial documents involved. I ask her to indicate that when she leaves this Chamber, although it can wait until tomorrow, she will pick up the telephone to the NTPF and ask its representatives to sit down with CareChoice. Will she do that for me? Will she please contact the NTPF?

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