Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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30. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 178 of 13 November 2013, the actions being taken and that will be taken to ensure that citizens requiring long-term residential care are provided with appropriate care and supports as expediently as possible. [53983/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The HSE makes every effort to ensure that individuals who qualify for financial support under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme are provided with such support as expediently as possible. However, there is a set budget for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme each year and the HSE must operate within it. The budget for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme in 2013 is €974m.

As outlined in my previous reply, the HSE operates a national placement list to enable it to remain within budget and to ensure equity of access to finding nationally. In addition, it tries to match the funding available for the Scheme to the level of demand by releasing funding on a weekly basis. At 3rd December there were a total of 123 applicants awaiting funding approval which represents a waiting period of less than 1 week.