Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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94. To ask the Minister for Health the way he proposes to address waiting times for the fair deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36532/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The HSE operates a national placement list for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme to enable it to operate within budget. All applicants who are approved for funding are put on the placement list in chronological order by the date of determination of their application. Funding issues to applicants in this chronological order to ensure equity nationally. Funding is released by the HSE on a weekly basis to ensure those on the placement list receive funding as soon as possible. Currently, the average waiting time on the placement list following funding approval is 15 weeks. As of the 23rd September (latest figures available), there are 2,007 on the placement list awaiting funding release.

Funding for these services will be considered in the context of the Estimates Process 2015, which is currently underway. The funding that will be 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.