Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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617. To ask the Minister for Health the plans that are in place to tackle the long waiting times for the fair deal nursing home scheme; his views that it is acceptable that scarce hospital beds are being taken up by patients who cannot take up their residency in nursing homes until the scheme is processed which is taking up to 16 weeks at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41192/14]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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646. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to improve the waiting list times for approval of funding for the fair deal scheme for persons awaiting funding and suffering from ill-health as County Wexford applicants are forced to wait at least 15 weeks for approval for funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41294/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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710. To ask the Minister for Health if waiting times for fund release under the fair deal scheme is currently at 15 weeks; the action being taken to reduce these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41587/14]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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734. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting placement under the fair deal scheme; the average waiting time for such a placement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41784/14]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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743. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the growing waiting lists for the allocation of funding for the fair deal scheme and the financial hardship it is causing families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41811/14]

Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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762. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to address the waiting list and the the delay in approving funding for the fair deal scheme. [41922/14]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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784. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to restore the fair deal programme's funding. [42019/14]

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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810. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the backlog which currently exists in progressing applicants of the fair deal scheme into suitable nursing home/residential care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42190/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 617, 646, 710, 734, 743, 762, 784 and 810 together.

Applications for financial support under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme are normally processed within 3-4 weeks. Once a determination has been made, approved applicants are put on the placement list in order of their approval date and funding issues to applicants in this chronological order to ensure equity nationally. As of the 28th of October 2014 (latest figures available) there were 2,135 people on the Nursing Homes Support Scheme's national placement List with a wait time for funding release of just over 15 weeks.

The HSE operates the national placement list for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme to enable it to operate within budget. Funding of €939 million is available to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme in 2014. Approximately 515 new approvals for funding are issued each month. However over the course of the year to date, demand for nursing home places has been at approximately 640 per month. The national placement list has grown as a result of this increased demand. The scheme continues to take on new clients within the resources available, in accordance with the legislation.  In the first eight months of 2014, 3,928 new clients were funded under the scheme.

While €23 million was transferred from the Nursing Homes Support Scheme in 2014 to provide additional community services, this was with a view to allowing more older people to be supported in their own homes and communities for longer, and to develop new, more intensive home and community supports for those with higher or more complex needs. This is in line with both Government policy and with the expressed wishes of older people. In addition, the HSE allocated €5m in July this year for an initiative to improve access to appropriate care for older people.  To date this has funded over 300 transitional care beds for patients in acute hospitals who are on the NHSS national placement list and over 200 home care packages to assist patients in the acute hospitals who require a home care package to be discharged.

A further €25 million has been allocated to tackle the problem of delayed discharges in budget 2015. This will help with placement list waiting times and the pressure in acute hospitals resulting from beds being taken up by those who no longer require acute care.