Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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174. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons currently awaiting placement under the fair deal scheme; the average waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7317/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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As of the 13th of February 2015 (latest figures available) there were 1,415 people on the national placement list for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme with an average wait time of 11 weeks.

The budget for the Scheme in 2015 is €948.8m which reflects an increase of €10m from the 2014 position. The additional €10m was allocated to the Scheme as part of a wider initiative to alleviate the problem of delayed discharges in acute hospitals and has resulted in 300 extra approvals under the Scheme to date. In total since December 2014 funding has been released to provide for 1,200 places.