Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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784. To ask the Minister for Health the rules in relation to the fair deal scheme for nursing homes with regard to the prices agreed between nursing homes and the National Treatment Purchase Fund; if there is a difference between a dementia patient and a non-dementia patient; if there is a difference in the subvention provided to nursing homes for accepting a dementia patient and a non-dementia patient as a consequence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25129/18]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) negotiates with proprietors of registered nursing homes to reach agreement in relation to the maximum price that will be charged by each nursing home for the provision of long-term residential care services to residents participating in the Nursing Homes Support Scheme.

The process of setting prices with individual private and voluntary nursing homes is commonly referred to as the NTPF pricing mechanism. The NTPF has statutory independence in the performance of its function and negotiates with each nursing home on an individual basis.

For each registered nursing home a single price is agreed for all residents participating in the scheme regardless of the level of dependency and need for care. The NTPF assert that existing prices are averaged to take account of the levels of dependency that currently prevail among nursing home residents, and this already includes a significant proportion of people with dementia.