Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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235. To ask the Minister for Health if he will outline the current waiting list for admission under the fair deal nursing home scheme and the current average waiting time; if he will confirm that all persons on the waiting list have been medically assessed as requiring full-time nursing home care; if he will ensure that the 2014 budget for the scheme is at a very minimum maintained, in view of this waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52409/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The first stage in the application process for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme is a care needs assessment. This identifies whether or not long-term nursing home care is the most appropriate option for the particular individual, or whether they can be supported to continue living at home. Therefore, every individual on the placement list has been assessed as needing long-term nursing home care. On the 18th November there were 184 people on the placement list for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme. At that stage it was taking 7 days for funding to issue, from the date that the person was first placed on the list.

As the Deputy is aware, the total amounts available to fund health services in 2014 will be considerably lower than for this year. Accordingly, all expenditure headings are being scrutinised. The funding that is available must be balanced across all of the various service areas in a way that achieves the best possible outcomes for the greatest number of service users and prioritises areas of greatest need as far as possible. The needs of our older people are, and will remain, a very high priority for me and for the Government, and the resources that ultimately are available will be applied to provide the best possible mix of supports and services.