Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

These amendments relate to a change introduced on 1 January 2007, which replaced the three levels of dependency previously used, namely, medium, high and maximum, and their corresponding subvention rates with a single maximum rate of €300. Levels of dependency no longer exist. A person now is deemed to be either dependent or not dependent. In simple terms, a person either does or does not need to be maintained in a nursing home.

Amendment No. 16 provides that a review of a person's dependency may still be carried out. However, whereas previously such a review would have been to see whether a person's level of dependency had changed, the amendment provides that the purpose of such a review will be to ascertain whether the person still needs to be maintained in a nursing home. This flows from the fact that there are no longer three distinct levels of dependency. The abolition of the three levels of dependency and the creation of a single maximum rate of dependency were part of a number of measures that took effect on 1 January 2007 as provided for in the Nursing Homes Subvention (Amendment) Regulations 2006. The provisions of these regulations are now being included in the primary legislation and the regulations will fall on the enactment of the Bill.

Before Christmas, the Minister for Health and Children announced a new nursing home care support scheme, which will be introduced on 1 January 2008. The purpose of the changes being introduced for 2007 is to pave the way for the new scheme and render an increased number of people eligible for subvention in the short term. Some €85 million has been provided to fund these measures for 2007 and it is expected that some 2,000 people will benefit from the changes.