Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The legislation underpinning the Nursing Homes Support Scheme requires each private nursing home to negotiate and agree a price for long-term residential care services with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) should they wish to be an approved nursing home for the purposes of the Scheme. This is a necessary feature of the scheme due to the commitment by the State to meet the full balance of the cost of care over and above a person's contribution.

The NTPF is independent in the performance of this function and, in carrying it out, it must ensure value for money for both the individual and the State. It negotiates with each nursing home individually and may examine the records and accounts of nursing homes as part of the process. The duration of Pricing Contracts is a matter for agreement between the NTPF and the nursing home in question.