Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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158. To ask the Minister for Health the policy regarding building a community nursing home and the prevention of displacement of existing private providers that live in close proximity thereto (details supplied). [52479/17]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to enhancing the quality of life of older people, maintaining their full potential, supporting them in their homes and communities, providing access to respite care and day care and, when required, providing access to appropriate quality long-term residential care.

Residential care in Ireland is provided through a mix of public, voluntary and private provision. It is worth highlighting that the net budget for long-term residential care in 2017 is €940m and the Nursing Homes Support Scheme will support over 23,000 people by the end of the year. The Scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings. A key principle of the Scheme is that applicants can choose any public, voluntary or approved private nursing home. The home must have availability and be able to cater for the applicant's particular needs.

Community Nursing Units like Ballinasloe are an essential part of our national infrastructure of nursing homes. They provide over 5,000 long stay residential care beds or approximately 20% of the total stock of nursing home beds nationally. Ballinasloe Community Nursing Unit is a purpose designed building. The centre has opened on a phased basis, initially with 25 residents. Earlier this year the Unit increased the maximum number of persons that can be accommodated to 50 residents.

The demand for residential services will continue to grow with changing demographics, and the associated complex needs of an ageing population. The recently published ESRI report on projections on demand for health care indicates that demand for long-term and intermediate care places in nursing homes and other settings will increase by 40-54% by 2030 from 29,000 in 2015.