Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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1145. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to establish a forum involving representatives of his Department, the HSE, organisations representing the elderly and representatives of the nursing homes so that matters of concern across the area can be addressed, in view of the large number of persons in private nursing homes throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37968/17]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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There are no plans to establish a forum as suggested by the Deputy. However I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Department of Health has formulated new arrangements to implement and monitor the implementation of the 2013 National Positive Ageing Strategy. The National Positive Ageing Strategy provides a framework for cooperation to address age-related policy and service delivery across Government and society in the years ahead. The Strategy highlights that ageing is not just a health issue, but rather requires a whole of Government approach to address a range of social, economic and environmental factors that affect the health and wellbeing of our ageing citizens. The revised arrangements were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform on 27 October, 2016.

These new arrangements establish mechanisms that will give stakeholder groups effective and on-going access to Government Departments and State Agencies relevant to older people. This includes an annual Forum for stakeholders to identify what they consider to be their key priorities for Government for the coming year and the next three years; and establishing clear channels of communications between stakeholders and relevant Government Departments. In this regard, stakeholder representatives will engage with a named senior official on issues relevant to their remit, in order that the priorities identified by the stakeholders at the Forum can be pursued.

The inaugural stakeholder Forum took place on 30th March 2017, and was attended by civic society organisations who are representative of the needs and views of older people in Ireland. Following on from this successful Forum, the Department of Health has opened a dialogue with each of the Government Departments identified as having responsibility for the priorities agreed by stakeholders to advise them of the issues for discussion prior to them being contacted by the stakeholder representative group. The Department of Health has met with this stakeholder representative group, and will meet with them again in late 2017 to establish progress made and assist with any issues arising.