Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that some applicants in respect of the fair deal scheme cannot be accommodated in certain facilities, in view of the fact that they are deemed hospitals, and outside the remit of the scheme; if she will give direction to addressing this problem; and if she will assist in the case of a person (details supplied). [27836/10]

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Nursing Homes Support Scheme is a system of financial support for individuals in public, voluntary and approved private nursing homes. The scheme is available to anyone assessed as needing long-term nursing home care. However, it does not cover long-term residential care in other settings, such as mental health and disability facilities.

When Government was considering proposals for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, it decided to limit the scheme to long-term nursing home care, so as to set the rates for what was a new and innovative scheme within well defined criteria, where likely costs could be more reliably predicted. However, it also committed to reviewing the scheme three years from the date of its introduction and agreed that any such review would include explicit consideration of the extension of the scheme to the mental health and disability sectors.

The facility referred to by the Deputy is not a registered nursing home. It is an Approved Centre registered under Section 64 of the Mental Health Act 2001.