Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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601. To ask the Minister for Health if he will direct that the fair deal scheme will apply to a person (details supplied). [8784/20]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as A Fair Deal, is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care.  Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their income and assets while the State pays the balance of the cost.

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. An applicant to the scheme 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.

Bloomfield Health Services is not an approved nursing home under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act (2009); in order for a nursing home to qualify for the NHSS they must first register with Heath Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and must have in place an agreement with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) on the maximum amount to be charged for the provision of nursing home care services. As Bloomfield Health Services does not meet the legal requirements in relation to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, it is not possible for the NHSS to apply in the circumstances referenced.

Further, as Minister for Health, under section 10B of the Health Act 2004, as amended, I am precluded from making a direction of the nature suggested.