Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome back the Minister. I raise with him the critical situation currently being faced by many private and voluntary nursing homes. They provide care for more than 25,000 people in more than 400 locations and provide 80% of all nursing home care. Yet, 31 private and voluntary nursing homes have closed over the past three years with the loss of 915 beds. The crucial issue is that these closures have primarily been located in regional and rural areas. Furthermore, the trend is worsening because 19 of those 31 closures have occurred in the past 12 months. What the figures do not tell us is that many more small to medium-sized nursing homes, many in my own constituency, are hanging on by a thread. We know why this is happening. Report after report from HIQA and others, including the latest one from PwC last February show that private and voluntary nursing homes receive approximately €600 less per resident per week than their HSE counterparts. That is worth repeating - some €600 less per resident per week. If you had a 40 bed facility, that would be about €1.25 million less than a similar HSE facility under the fair deal scheme.

I am telling the Minister that is unsustainable and that is why they are closing. Private and voluntary nursing homes operate under exactly the same criteria and the same regulations as HSE facilities, and rightly so. They provide a level of care that is identical. Will the Government provide an immediate stabilisation fund of €190 million in the next budget to help ensure their short-term viability and help prevent further closures? I also ask that the fair deal rates be reviewed and reset to reflect the real cost of elderly care. Many nursing home owners in my constituency have told me they are under severe financial pressure. I cannot name them, because that would immediately cause huge upset and concern for families, residents and staff.

What I do not want to see is their names being added to the ever-growing list of closures. Will the Government stop dragging its heels and deliver some level of equity and fairness in this sector both for the residents and for the staff who work there?

See this speech in context