Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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416. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update regarding the number of persons currently waiting to access the fair deal scheme in Dublin, and elsewhere in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24655/15]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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417. To ask the Minister for Health the measures his Department is undertaking to reduce waiting times to access the fair deal scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24656/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 417 together.

The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) provides financial support towards the cost of long-term residential care services in nursing homes. Under the Scheme, nursing home residents contribute towards the cost of their nursing home care based on their means, and the HSE pays the balance.

In Budget 2015 €948.8m was provided for the NHSS which included an additional €10m to fund an extra 300 places which formed part of the Delayed Discharges Initiative. However, throughout this year hospitals have experienced increased overcrowding in Emergency Departments and increased numbers of patients whose discharge from hospital has been delayed. At the beginning of April 2015 it was announced that an additional €74m has been allocated to address the issue that has arisen. As a result delayed discharges have reduced from a high of 835 at the end of November 2014 to 649 as of the 16th of June 2015.

Of the €74m, €44m was provided to the NHSS to fund 1,600 more places under the Scheme. This brings the total budget for the NHSS for 2015 to €993m. The additional €54m in funding in 2015 for the NHSS has reduced the number of people on the national placement list awaiting funding from 1,898 in November 2014 to 556 people as of the 12th of June 2015 (latest figures available). The length of time spent on the national placement list has also reduced significantly from 14 weeks in November to 4 weeks currently.