Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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422. To ask the Minister for Health when the Health Service Executive will approve a nursing home (details supplied) in Swords, County Dublin under the fair deal scheme. [5322/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The first step for a nursing home to become an approved residential care facility is to be registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA is the independent authority established under the Health Act 2007, and all nursing homes, whether public, private or voluntary, are required to be registered and inspected by the HIQA.

Furthermore, 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.

The NTPF is independent in the performance of this function and neither the Department of Health nor the HSE can influence the process. The NTPF negotiates with each nursing home individually and may examine the records and accounts of nursing homes as part of the process with the objective of setting a fair price which delivers value for money to the individual and the State. Pricing contracts are entirely a matter for agreement between the NTPF and the nursing home in question.

In negotiating with nursing homes, the NTPF has regard to:

- costs reasonably and prudently incurred by the nursing home and evidence of value for money,

- price(s) previously charged,

- local market price, and

- budgetary constraints and the obligation on the State to use available resources in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.

If negotiations between nursing home proprietors and the NTPF cannot reach agreement there is a three stage review process available: details are set out on the NTPF website at www.ntpf.ie.