Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting my matter tonight. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who at least has the manners to come in. I thank her for that. I am raising this very important issue of St. Brendan's nursing home in Mulranny. It is a tremendous facility with a wonderful reputation, opened in 1998. It is a rural based nursing home that provides many people with opportunities to remain and live in their own village. It is a not-for-profit nursing home and a registered charity but it is classified as private and is non-HSE.

Unfortunately due to rising costs, this nursing home is finding it increasingly difficult to survive. St. Brendan's nursing home urgently requires financial support from the Government. It is vital that we support community-based nursing homes. They provide tremendous service. With an aging population it is very important that beds are maintained and not closed down. St. Brendan's nursing home, along with other private, non-profit nursing homes carry out the same work as the HSE-run units with the same number of residents. The HSE units get 60% more funding than St. Brendan's nursing home and other private non-profit nursing homes. There needs to be equality and fairness in the system. We cannot let St. Brendan's nursing home close. It has been open for many years and there are many local patients depending on it. There is one patient there for 20 years. What is going to happen if that nursing home closes down? What is going to happen to that individual and other individuals who are in nursing homes in their own areas?

I might have disagreed with Dr. Jerry Cowley on many political issues but I compliment him on his role of chairman of this nursing home, dealing with all the rules and regulations for HIQA, with the beds that have been reduced, and having gone through Covid. The other big problem they have is something the Minister of State will have to deal with in respect of the HSE. Dr. Cowley spends €2,500 to go out to India and other world countries to bring in nurses. When their contracts are up, the next thing is that the HSE targets them and takes that staff away from him. The HSE can pay more, of course, because they pay out of taxpayers' money.

This nursing home is registered as a charity. I am asking the Minister of State two things tonight. St. Brendan's is getting approximately €1,000 per bed. That needs to be increased to about €1,600 to €1,700. The second and most important thing is that it is a charity. It should not be classed as a private nursing home. It should be getting the same funding as St. Fionnan's nursing home down the road in Achill which does the same job. It is another wonderful nursing home but it will be getting €1,600 to €1,800 and Dr. Jerry Cowley's nursing home is getting €1,000. It is very unfair. I am asking the Minister of State to talk to her officials and see if there is anything she can do. This nursing home is in a crisis. We have already lost 31 nursing homes since 2020 and we do not want to lose this.

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